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NEWS MEDIA CONSUMPTION IN A WHITE URBAN INFORMAL SETTLEMENT: THE CASE OF PANGO CAMP
by
Suzette Lucia Leal
MA DISSERTATION
submitted in fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree
MASTER OF ARTS
in
COMMUNICATION THEORY
in the
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
at the
UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG
SUPERVISOR: Professor K. M. Burger
Submission date: December, 2017
1 Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the following people:
1) Professor Mariekie Burger, my supervisor, for going above and beyond to assist, guide and advise me in every aspect of this study. Her passion for the field of communications and her students reflects in everything she does. Without her commitment, patience, knowledge, helpful and warm nature, none of this would be possible.
2) The Pango Camp community, Hugo and the late Irene van Niekerk, for welcoming me into their homes and hearts.
3) My mother, Zephne Botha, for instilling in me the importance of an education and a hunger for knowledge.
4) My husband, Greg Leal, for believing in and supporting me every step of the way – for being a true partner and my very best friend. And for looking after our amazing baby Mirabelle with such love and devotion.
3 Abstract
Urban informal settlements are commonplace in the South African landscape. In fact, just under ten percent of the South African population lives in informal settlements. This does not suggest, however, that much is understood about individuals residing in these communities. One aspect of their lives that has received minimal attention in the form of empirical research is their news media consumption – this includes their own interpretation of what constitutes news, their reasons for engaging with or disengaging from news media, and how they interpret their own news media consumption habits.
This study explored the news media consumption of residents of Pango Camp to gain insight into their understanding of news and their preferred news media sources, as well as the reasons for their selection of news media. Through in-depth interviews, it was found that the Pango Camp participants demonstrate a unique differentiation between “inside news” (what happens in Pango Camp) and “outside news” (anything that occurs outside of the immediate Pango Camp boundaries). Most participants indicated a strong and overwhelming preference for inside news.
This raises the question whether traditional or conventional news values can be applied to marginalised communities. Although participants of this study prefer news within close, and almost immediate, proximity, they appear to have constant access to a myriad of news media sources such as newspapers, paid-for television channels, radio and the internet that can provide them with valuable information about the outside. The internet and social media are so readily available that Facebook was cited by most participants as their preferred source of outside news, while television and radio were mostly used for entertainment. Not only was Facebook used as a source of information relevant to participants, it was also frequently used as a platform to voice and express their opinions and to ask for help. This calls into question the understanding that people affected by income poverty most often also suffer from information and voice poverty.
Even though this study provides rich insight into the news media consumption of a community living in an urban informal settlement, its findings cannot be generalised 4 to other communities in such conditions. In fact, the main limitation of the study is that its findings cannot be assumed to apply to other urban informal settlements, and it is therefore recommended that they be tested through quantitative studies to ascertain their applicability to other communities living in informal urban settlements.
5 CONTENTS
AFFIDAVIT ...... 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... 3 ABSTRACT ...... 4 PANGO CAMP TERMINOLOGY ...... 9 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...... 10 1.1 CONTEXTUALISATION ...... 10 1.2 PANGO CAMP ...... 12 1.3 RESEARCH PROBLEM ...... 14 1.4 RESEARCH APPROACH ...... 15 1.5 CHAPTER OUTLINE ...... 15 1.6 KEY TERMS ...... 16 1.6.1 Poverty ...... 16 1.6.2 Media consumption ...... 16 1.6.3 News ...... 16 1.6.4 News consumption ...... 17 1.6.5 News media consumption ...... 17 1.6.6 Digital divide ...... 17 1.6.7 Information poverty ...... 18 1.6.8 Voice poverty ...... 18 1.7 CONCLUSION ...... 18 CHAPTER 2: POVERTY, NEWS AND THE MASS MEDIA ...... 19 2.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 19 2.2 POVERTY ...... 19 2.2.1 Introduction ...... 19 2.2.2 Poverty is multidimensional ...... 19 2.2.3 Poverty and formal education ...... 21 2.2.4 Poverty, unemployment and daily life routine ...... 22 2.3 ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND ACCESS TO PLATFORMS TO VOICE OPINIONS ...... 23 2.3.1 Introduction ...... 23 2.3.2 Access to information and information poverty ...... 24 2.3.3 Voicing views publicly and voice poverty ...... 25 2.3.4 Access and the digital divide ...... 27 2.4 POVERTY AND NEWS MEDIA CONSUMPTION ...... 34 2.4.1 Introduction ...... 34 2.4.2 News and news values ...... 34 2.4.3 Reasons for news media consumption: the uses and gratifications theory ...... 39 2.4.4 The media, news, and the poor: relatability, representation, and media preferences ...... 43 2.4.4.1 Poverty and relating to media content ...... 43 2.4.4.2 Representation: negative and stereotypical media portrayal of poverty ...... 45 2.5 CONCLUSION ...... 47 CHAPTER 3: POVERTY AND NEWS THROUGH OTHER SOURCES ...... 50 3.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 50 3.2 ONLINE NEWS ...... 50 3.3 SOCIAL MEDIA AS A NEWS SOURCE ...... 51 3.3.1 Introduction ...... 51 3.3.2 Social media ...... 51 3.3.3 Social media and echo chambers ...... 54 3.3.4 Social media and filter bubbles ...... 55
6 3.3.5 Social media and fake news ...... 57 3.4 INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION AS A NEWS SOURCE ...... 59 3.4.1 Introduction ...... 59 3.4.2 Individuals as news source – the two-step flow of communication ...... 59 3.4.3 Social networks as news sources ...... 61 3.4.3.1 The network theory and poverty ...... 61 3.4.3.2 Social capital in networked communities ...... 62 3.4.3.3 Social capital and poverty ...... 64 3.4.3.4 Social capital and media consumption ...... 67 3.5 CONCLUSION ...... 69 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY ...... 72 4.1 RESEARCH APPROACH ...... 72 4.2 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION ...... 73 4.3 SAMPLING ...... 78 4.4 DATA ANALYSIS ...... 81 4.5 LIMITATIONS ...... 82 4.6 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ...... 84 4.7 CONCLUSION ...... 87 CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS ...... 88 5.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 88 5.2 THEME 1: POVERTY, EDUCATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT ...... 90 5.2.1 Topic 1: Education levels of Pango Camp participants ...... 91 5.2.2 Topic 2: Unemployment in Pango Camp ...... 93 5.3 THEME 2: NEWS AND NEWS TOPICS ...... 96 5.3.1 Topic 1: Participants’ definition of news – outside news versus inside news ...... 96 5.3.2 Topic 2: News topics (outside news) ...... 99 5.3.2.1 Politics and the economy ...... 100 5.3.2.2 Sport ...... 102 5.3.2.3 Weather ...... 102 5.3.2.4 Crime and human-interest pieces ...... 102 5.3.2.5 Self-help ...... 106 5.3.3 Topic 3: Making sense of news media consumption ...... 107 5.3.3.1 Outside news exposure: boredom and habit ...... 107 5.3.3.2 Lack of relatability with outside news ...... 110 5.3.3.3 Misrepresentation by the outside ...... 113 5.4 THEME 3: ACCESS TO CONVENTIONAL NEWS SOURCES AND ACCESS TO VOICE PLATFORMS ...... 115 5.4.1 Topic 1: Access to conventional news sources ...... 116 5.4.1.1 Magazines ...... 116 5.4.1.2 Newspapers ...... 117 5.4.1.3 Television ...... 118 5.4.1.4 Radio ...... 120 5.4.2 Topic 2: Information poverty/conventional news poverty ...... 121 5.4.3 Topic 3: Voice poverty ...... 127 5.5 THEME 4: OTHER NEWS SOURCES AND NEWS MEDIA CONSUMPTION ...... 131 5.5.1 Interpersonal communication spreads news ...... 131 5.5.2 Personal contacts and societal networks ...... 132 5.5.3 Shouting, calling and whistling ...... 138 5.5.4 Social media, soft outside news, and mobile phones ...... 139 5.5.4.1 WhatsApp as news source ...... 139 5.5.4.2 Facebook and other internet sources of news ...... 140 5.5.4.3 Mobile phones ...... 146 5.6 CONCLUSION ...... 149
7 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION ...... 153 6.1 BACKGROUND ...... 153 6.2 PURPOSE AND FINDINGS ...... 154 6.2.1 Definition of news ...... 154 6.2.2 News sources ...... 156 6.2.3 The reasons why Pango Camp participants rely on the news media they use .. 158 6.2.4 Making sense of the news media consumption of Pango Camp residents ...... 159 6.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ...... 160 6.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ...... 161 6.5 CONCLUSION ...... 161 REFERENCES ...... 163 APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE ...... 186 APPENDIX 2: PHOTOS OF PANGO CAMP ...... 188
8 Pango Camp terminology
Sponsors Individuals or charities that donate food, clothes or other products to Pango Camp residents.
The dam (Die Another name for Coronation Caravan Park. The connotation dam) is due to a dam being on the same premises.
The park (Die Another name for Coronation Caravan Park. park)
Munsieville The township Pango Camp is part of. Participants use the names Pango Camp and Munsieville interchangeably – both refer to their place of residence.
The inside Pango Camp residents distinguish between their immediate environment and the surrounding suburbs, broader Krugersdorp area, wider Johannesburg metropolitan, and the rest of the province, country and the world. The “inside” refers to events and conditions inside Pango Camp.
The outside Everything outside Pango Camp.
Oom/Oompie Reference to an older man, typically a sign of respect.
Tannie Reference to an older woman, typically a sign of respect
Going into town When residents leave Pango Camp, for example to either go to the petrol station in Newlands, a mall in Roodepoort or a church in Krugersdorp, they refer to this as “going into town”.
Working the robots Begging at traffic lights.
9 Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Contextualisation
In South Africa, 8.4% of adults live in informal urban settlements (Statistics South Africa, 2008/2009: 7). Despite this substantial percentage, limited research investigates the news media consumption of individuals residing in informal urban settlements. The term “news consumption” refers to the act of surveillance, addressing a person’s need to obtain information about political, economic, and socio-cultural events that directly or indirectly affect them on a local, national and global level (O’Sullivan, Hartley, Saunders, Montgomery & Fiske, 2006: 326). The term “news media consumption” is a wider concept that not only includes news consumption, but also aspects such as what constitutes news (Galtung & Ruge, 1965, 64-91; Elliott, 1979: 115-123; Allern, 2002: 145; Harcup & O'Neill, 2016: 1-19), reasons for engaging with news media (Rubin, Haridakis, Hultman, Sun, Chikombero & Pornsakulnanich, 2003: 129), news sources (Sundar & Limperos, 2013: 513), news consumption practices (Blank, 2013: 591; Chaffee & Metzger, 2001: 370; Flaxman, Goel & Rao, 2016: 298; Hermida, Fletcher, Korell, & Logan, 2012: 815; Alejandro, 2010: 10; Singh, 2011: 8) and how audiences make sense of their news media consumption behaviour (Hwang, 2005: 5).
Even though there is an abundance of international and local research on issues around news media consumption of the wealthier and powerful segments of society (Delaney, Egan & O’Connell, 2011: 15; Garland, 2015: 7; Dagron, 2004: 3), there is little research into the news media consumption habits and patterns of the poor – especially of people living in informal urban settlements. Aside from the tendency that research about news media consumption mostly focuses on the more affluent and influential segments of society, research on the news media consumption of the poor is not systematic or comprehensive. Instead, such research tends to concentrate on technology (especially how the poor use mobile phones), the digital divide, and sources of news, as is discussed in more detail later.
A large body of research concentrates on mobile phones as means to access news and other information. Several studies focus on the necessary practice amongst
10 residents of impoverished communities of sharing mobile phones, contradicting the perception and belief that these devices are used individually, as representing the epitome of personal technology (see for instance the study of De Souza e Silva, Sutko, Salis & De Souza e Silva, 2011: 419 on the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, and the study of Ureta, 2008: 83 on mobile phone usage in low-income neighbourhoods in Santiago). Furthermore, there is abundant research around mobile phone usage to keep in contact with friends and family (see for instance Skuse & Cousins, 2008: 23). Local research into mobile phone indicates that mobile phones serve as reminders of, and contributors to, social immobility in poor communities (Schoon & Strelitz, 2014: 25), prohibiting the poor from shifting from an early industrial society to the mobile network age since their mobile phone usage is predominantly survivalist in nature (Duncan, 2013: 35). However, the necessity of this technology in low-income communities in South Africa is highlighted by Kreutzer (2009: 58), who found that mobile phones are often the only tools available and used to access the internet. Also in South Africa, Chigona, Vally, Beukes and Tanner (2009: 14) found that the high cost associated with web-enabled mobile phones is an underlying factor further excluding the poor from news and information available on the internet.
Another research focus that is related to the news media consumption habits of the poor, is research that explores the digital divide. In this vein, Wijetunga (2014: 72) found that in impoverished communities in Sri Lanka, social inequalities are imbedded within the design and language of mobile phones. On a larger scale, a multinational study by Banerjee and Duflo (2007: 1-22) found that the poor who live on less than $1 a day have differentiated media access across thirteen developing countries. And a study that compares general media habits of the youth in a peri- urban town and a big city found that access to funds impacts mass media source choices (Smith, 2011: 1-185). Related to financial access, a local South African study into digital literacy as a component for effective news access found that the combination of poverty and a non-English home language negatively impacts digital knowledge and competencies since a large part of the internet is English-based and not in the vernacular (Lemphane & Prinsloo, 2014: 750).
A third research focus related to news media consumption falls on investigating news source preferences and patterns. In this way, it is argued that residents of 11 informal settlements in Kenya, Nigeria, Benin, Ghana and Delhi, India consider radio (either rural radio or national radio, such as The Voice of Kenya) as the most reliable source of information, whilst people with a slightly higher formal education, but who still live in informal settlements, tend to prefer newspapers (Ugboaja, 1985: 161; Zossou, Vodouhe, Van Mele, Agboh-Noameshie & Lebailly, 2015: 1057-1066; Chapman, Blench, Kranjac-Berisavljevic & Zakariah, 2003: 1-12; Manyozo, 2009: 1; Mishra, 1972: 77). Similarly, in a study in Turkey, it was confirmed that television and radio were considered the most prominent and reliable sources of information amongst the poor in an informal settlement, mostly because these were seen as affordable and “worth” the expense (Ogan, 1987: 159-161).
In other words, although there is some research on topics around news media consumption in poor communities, research does not integrate all these topics into a single study that explores the news media consumption practices of residents of urban informal settlements. The scarcity of international research in informal urban settlements is echoed on the local level as even fewer research projects in South Africa concentrate on urban informal settlements. As result, this segment of the population is under-researched – and that in a country where such a significant percentage of adults reside in urban informal settlements.
1.2 Pango Camp
With economic imbalance skewed in favour of South Africa’s white population, it is no surprise that the existence of white informal urban settlements (or “squatter camps” as they are often referred to in the local context) is considered an anomaly, and they are often covered in the local and international media for their novelty and sensation value (Bruwer, 2014; Burrows, 2016; Basson, 2015; O’ Reilly, 2010; Dibetle, 2009; Myburgh, 2015; Simpson, 2013; Summers, 2016; Lottering, 2015; McAteer, 2016 and Fourie, 2015). In fact, the exact number of white people living in urban informal settlements is not consistent. Simpson (2013) reports around 80 white informal settlements across the country with approximately 400,000 white people living in extreme poverty in such settlements, whilst the 2011 census statistics indicate that only 7,754 white households reside in informal settlements
12 (Rademeyer, 2013). In other words, there is no agreement regarding the extent of the phenomenon of white people living in urban informal settlements due to a lack of research. Consequently, despite the novelty attention of media reporting, little research has been undertaken with white residents of urban informal settlements, let alone their news media consumption. It is against this background that this study took shape to investigate the news media consumption of residents of Pango Camp.
Pango Camp was established in 2014 as a forced alternative for the illegal dwellers that were residing in the nearby Coronation Caravan Park in Krugersdorp (Serumula, 2014). A legal battle that lasted approximately five years resulted in the Mogale City municipality successfully obtaining a court order authorising the eviction of about 300 white, predominantly Afrikaans speaking, illegal informal settlement dwellers from Coronation Caravan Park (Fourie, 2015; Serumula, 2014). The Coronation Caravan Park community’s appeal was led by community leader Hugo van Niekerk (Fourie, 2015). The outcome of the court procedure was that a new designated area was allocated and prepared for them in a nearby black township – Munsieville (Serumula, 2014; Myburgh, 2015; Fourie, 2015). Whilst most Coronation Park residents elected to be moved to the new corrugated iron homes erected by the Red Ant Security Relocation and Eviction Services (commonly referred to as the Red Ants), in Munsieville in November 2014 (Serumula, 2014), approximately 100 of the Coronation Park residents opted to move to Kleinvallei1 instead of relocating to Munsieville (Serumula, 2014; Myburgh, 2015; Fourie, 2015).
Although initially reluctant and apprehensive to move to Munsieville (Serumula, 2014), these evictees’ transition and adaptation to their new environment appears to have been seamless (Fourie, 2015). They named their new stretch of land Pango Camp, and today it is dotted with approximately 80 informal temporary structures, made of metal, wood and cardboard, that serve as homes to the roughly 200 residents – 150 adults and 50 children (Fourie, 2015). In Pango Camp, one mobile toilet is shared between two households and there are approximately six taps with running water servicing the community (Fourie, 2015; McAteer, 2016; Ramabopa, 2016). There are no legal electricity connections, and residents use open fires to
1 Kleinvallei is a property privately owned and managed by a charitable, cultural project aimed at addressing poverty and unemployment amongst white Afrikaans-speaking people (Myburgh, 2015). 13 cook food and heat outdoor geysers (Fourie, 2015; McAteer, 2016; Ramabopa, 2016).
Increasingly, as new research is undertaken with residents of informal urban settlements, the differences between such settlements are foregrounded. In fact, Krishna (2009: 948) argues that “the poor” does not constitute a valid category, and cannot universally be sketched in the same way. Even within poor communities and environments, there are significant differences and distinct subgroups (Krishna, 2009: 948; Schouteden & Wauters, 2016: 135). A disaggregated view of people who suffer from poverty is thus required to move beyond the unrealistic category termed “the poor” (Krishna, 2009: 958).
In other words, there are considerable differences between individuals and communities that live in informal settlements. Also, in some urban informal settlements, regular care workers, donors or benefactors assist communities in different ways, whilst other communities have little or no external help. Therefore, newer research emphasises that, despite being poor, each urban informal settlement has unique circumstances and contextual factors impacting daily life. Against the background of limited past research on informal urban settlements in the communication and media studies field, this study seeks to add to the growing body of scholarly knowledge about urban informal settlements in South Africa, and specifically about their news media consumption.
1.3 Research problem
The purpose of this study is to make sense of the news media consumption of residents of the urban informal settlement, Pango Camp. The following research aims are set for this study:
1. To establish how residents of Pango Camp define news; 2. To establish how residents of Pango Camp use different news sources; and 3. To examine why residents of Pango Camp rely on the news media that they use.
14 A Nexus search indicated that this study is unique as news media consumption in an urban informal settlement of South Africa has not been studied.
1.4 Research approach
In order to understand the news media consumption of Pango Camp residents, a qualitative methodological paradigm was used, as minimal research has been undertaken regarding the news media consumption of people living in informal settlements. Qualitative research is most often used when little available research exists on a particular topic since it is exploratory and it investigates relatively under- researched phenomena or topics (Terre Blanche & Durrheim, 2002: 39). Furthermore, qualitative research facilitates and invites participants to freely express their views as the uniqueness of an individual or community forms an integral part of the study (Liamputtong, 2013: xiii).
1.5 Chapter outline
Chapter 2 explores the existing literature regarding the relationship between poverty and news media consumption. More specifically, it explores the nature and implications of poverty, how poverty is linked to access to information and platforms to voice views, and how poverty affects news media consumption.
Chapter 3 explores the link between poverty and news media sources other than the mass media. It specifically investigates social media, interpersonal communication and social networking as sources of news.
Chapter 4 details the methodological orientation to this study, the method of data collection, the sampling method, the method of data analysis, the limitations to this study, as well as ethical considerations relevant to this research project.
Chapter 5 presents the findings of this study based on the analysis of the in-depth personal interviews.
15 Chapter 6 concludes the study.
1.6 Key terms
1.6.1 Poverty
While simplistic understandings of poverty interpret it as financial constraints, more contemporary conceptions of poverty also consider the consequences of financial poverty (Rosenfeld, 2010: 103). The latter perspective assumes that poverty is multi- dimensional in nature (Agrawal & Redford, 2006: 7) as people who are poor are inclined to experience income, health or education deprivations at the same time (Chronic Poverty Report, 2004/2005: 6). This combination of deprivation, insufficient material assets, and social or political exclusion tends to perpetuate the cycle of poverty in keeping the poor stuck within their repressive environments and existence (Chronic Poverty Report, 2004/2005: 6).
1.6.2 Media consumption
The term “media consumption” refers to different ways in which the media is consumed. More specifically, it concerns the conscious thought processes and behavioural intentions that lead to selective media engagements, based on the assumption that the interaction with specific media sources and content is done to extract pre-determined desired outcomes (LaRose, 2010: 217). In other words, media consumption refers to the active choices people make when selecting media sources in terms of how they choose to use and respond to these (Lancaster, Hughes & Spicer, 2012: 16).
1.6.3 News
The term “news” commonly refers to new information that is in the public interest, that favours scale or magnitude, that is relevant to the audience, that focuses on the power elite, that is mostly bad or negative or unexpectedly good, that surprises, that concentrates on aspects around celebrities, that is entertaining, and that falls within the particular agenda of the news medium and/or editor (Harcup & O’Neill, 2001: 279). However, despite this general view, these are not the only criteria to be applied
16 in order for something to be considered news – each individual uses their own set of measures to determine what they find newsworthy (Meissner, 2015: 10).
1.6.4 News consumption
News consumption relates to a person’s activities directed at satisfying their need for surveillance (Du Plooy, 2009: 283; O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326). This includes their desire to obtain information regarding political, economic, social and educational developments in their community, country or the world (Du Plooy, 2009: 283; O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326).
1.6.5 News media consumption
News media consumption is a broader term than news consumption as it includes conventional news consumption, but also entails the definition individuals attach to “news” (Hermida et al., 2012: 815-824), the reasons that compel individuals to interact with the media as a source of information (Lancaster, Hughes & Spicer, 2012: 16; LaRose, 2010: 194; O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012: 101; O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326), and the way in which individuals relate to news content (Delaney, Egan & O’Connell, 2011: 15). Furthermore, the sources individuals select as conduits of information (Blank, 2013: 591; Chaffee & Metzger, 2001: 370; Flaxman, Goel & Rao, 2016: 298; Hermida et al., 2012: 815), and the way in which they interact with these source (Sharma, 2015: 75) are also included in the concept of news media consumption.
1.6.6 Digital divide
Some individuals, countries and regions of the world have more access to digital information technology than others (Cohron, 2015: 78). This leads to people who do not have access to digital technology essentially being deprived of access to the same information as others (Cohron, 2015: 78; Bornman, 2014: 7; Britz, 2004: 192; Nwagwu, 2006: 167). This gap between the information haves and the information have-nots, due to access to digital information technology, is referred to as the digital divide (Cohron, 2015: 78; Bornman, 2014: 7; Britz, 2004: 192; Nwagwu, 2006: 167).
17 Lower levels of access to digital information technology are associated with lower levels of information and opportunities to voice views.
1.6.7 Information poverty
Individuals or communities who do not have easy and convenient access to an abundance of information, who do not know how and where to find it, and who do not understand the value of information and how it can help them in their everyday lives, suffer from information poverty (Goulding, 2001: 109; Britz, 2004: 192). The assumption is often that information poverty affects the Global South and not the Global North, but in fact, it may also impact individuals and communities in the most industrialised societies (Goulding, 2001: 109).
1.6.8 Voice poverty
Not everyone has the same access to or skills to participate in social and public spheres (Tacchi, 2008: 12; Mohr, 2008: 9). This inability to have a voice which will allow a person to participate in creating content, to contribute to decision-making processes and to express political, social and economic views is referred to as voice poverty (Tacchi, 2008: 12; Britz, 2004: 193). Not having an impact on public opinion and public policy may result in marginalisation, and a community’s needs not being addressed.
1.7 Conclusion
In summary, existing research on news media consumption tends to investigate the wealthy or powerful instead of the poor and less influential. Little research is undertaken on poverty and news media consumption. This study investigates the news media consumption practices of a poor community – the residents of the urban informal settlement, Pango Camp. The next two chapters provide the theoretical underpinnings of this study.
18 Chapter 2: Poverty, news and the mass media
2.1 Introduction
This chapter provides theoretical context to this study in order to interpret news media consumption of the poverty-stricken community in the informal urban settlement, Pango Camp. The chapter has three sections. The first section explains the nature and implications of poverty and focuses on the multi-dimensional nature of poverty. The second section details the relation between poverty and access to news, information and opportunities to voice views by considering theories discussing the digital divide, which is in turn linked to voice poverty and information poverty. The last section of this chapter investigates the relationship between poverty and news media consumption and draws on the uses and gratifications theory, stereotypical media representations, negative media portrayal, and social exclusion due to non-representation in the media. In so doing, this chapter offers a critical reflection on conventional news values, and how these impact news media consumption of the poor.
2.2 Poverty
2.2.1 Introduction
This section explores the multidimensional nature of poverty. In the process, it emphasises the link between poverty, formal education, unemployment and daily life routine.
2.2.2 Poverty is multidimensional
When simplistically viewed, the term “poverty” refers to a lack of financial resources that afford an individual the necessary means to survive, especially to buy food (Pochun, 2000: 1; Narayan, Patel, Schafft, Rademacher & Koch-Schulte 1999: 7; Agrawal & Redford, 2006: 6-7). However, the concept of poverty is more complex than this basic understanding, as many different forms of poverty exist and these are interconnected and have multiple consequences.
19 Recent understandings of poverty conclude that human poverty has several dimensions (Pochun, 2000: 1; Agrawal & Redford, 2006: 6-7; Alkire & Santos, 2010: 7). To elaborate, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) uses the Human Poverty Index (HPI) or Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) to measure poverty across a variety of scopes and capacities (Human Development Report, 2016: 6). These measurement tools apply non-financial markers of poverty – such as health, life expectancy, water quality, standard of living, adult literacy, and underweight child births – to gauge the extent of poverty (Alkire & Santos, 2010: 7). Since poor people have limited access, not only to food, but also to productive assets, and reduced capabilities and skills in terms of education, health and social capital, it is crucial to include all these elements of deprivation as part of a comprehensive definition and description of poverty (Chronic Poverty Report, 2004/2005: 3). As the World Bank World Development Report (2000/2001: 15) indicates:
To be poor is to be hungry, to lack shelter and clothing, to be sick and not cared for, to be illiterate and not schooled. But for poor people, living in poverty is more than this. Poor people are particularly vulnerable to adverse events outside their control. They are often treated badly by the institutions of state and society and excluded from voice and power in those institutions.
It can therefore be said that human poverty refers to the deprivation that people suffer throughout their lives, not only financially, but by not enjoying choices and prospects that are most basic to human development (Pochun, 2000: 1). These opportunities refer to all the elements that make it possible to live a healthy, well- nourished, long and self-fulfilling life, to be educated and to have a reasonable standard of living, to be able to live in freedom, have self-respect and dignity and to participate in a community (Pochun, 2000: 1; Chronic Poverty Report, 2004/2005: 3).
The Multidimensional Poverty Index revealed that in South Africa 10.3% of the population (5,4 million people) are multi-dimensionally poor, while an additional 17.1% (8,9 million people) live near multi-dimensional poverty (Human Development Report, 2016: 6). Furthermore, Statistics South Africa indicated that, in 2015, 30.4 million people (55.5% of the South African population) lived in poverty, with 13.8 20 million people living in extreme poverty – below the food poverty line of R441 per person per month (Statistics South Africa, 2017).
2.2.3 Poverty and formal education
Aside from the general deprivation of financial and other resources, poverty regularly implies restrictions and limitations on being educated, which, in turn, results in even fewer financial or productive opportunities to generate an income (Pochin, 2001: 1; Iqbal, 2006: 36). In fact, poverty rates are the highest for households headed by illiterate, uneducated or under-educated individuals, and poverty rates decline with increased education of the household head (Iqbal, 2006: 36).
Consequently, the rise of formal education has been proposed to be the great equaliser as it presents the possibility to alleviate the effects of poverty by equipping individuals with the knowledge, skills and competencies they need to lead productive, successful and balanced lives (Coley & Baker, 2013: 3). This promise has not quite materialised on a worldwide level as the difference between the formal education levels of the poor and the non-poor remains extensive (Coley & Baker, 2013: 8). It would therefore appear that poverty and education are intertwined as the lack of education leads to poverty, which, in turn, restricts opportunities to increase formal education levels. In fact, in poverty-stricken communities, although there is a hunger for literacy, schooling itself receives minimal focus and attention (Narayan et al., 1999: 7). In support of this point of view, Banerjee and Duflo (2007: 7 & 17) found that the poor tend to invest little money in formal education as the parents or seniors in poverty stricken communities often have low levels of formal education themselves and are therefore unfamiliar with or intimidated by high levels of formal education.
In South Africa, the results from the 2011 census indicates that only 28.4% of the South African adult population has successfully completed matric, which leaves the remaining 71.6% without a completed formal secondary education (Times LIVE, 2012). If this is read against the findings of research on poverty, it means that a large portion of South Africans would be poor. This information is in line with the statistics referred to in the previous section about the rate of poverty in the country.
21 2.2.4 Poverty, unemployment and daily life routine
Aside from poverty being associated with low levels of formal education, poverty is also correlated with a lack of productive employment, widening economic and asset inequalities, and higher unemployment (Rao, 2014: 5). With a 27.7% unemployment statistic (Statistics South Africa, 2017), South Africa is amongst the five countries with the highest unemployment rates in the world (Forbes, 2015). This confronts the country with devastating poverty.
In order to understand the severe impact of unemployment, Van Hoye and Lootens (2013: 87) suggest that employment does not only provide financial benefits, it also has other underlying functions. One of the secondary aspects associated with being employed is that it forces a regular structure in someone’s life (Van Hoye & Lootens, 2013: 87), and unemployment, in turn, leads to a decline in imposed routine, and numerous unemployed people engage in job searching activities, DIY projects and house cleaning practices purely to create some type of productive structure (Delaney, Egan & O’Connell, 2011: 25). However, not only does unemployment imply a lack of daily routine, the unemployed often experience low satisfaction from leisure activities such as reading and watching television (Knabe, Rätzel, Schöb & Weimann, 2009: 870). It can therefore be said that employment creates much needed opportunities to be active and to feel productive and involved in social life (Van Hoye & Lootens, 2013: 87; see also Moller, 1991: 6).
In other words, forced and unintended unemployment largely entails, as the literature indicates, a lack of activity and a general sense of “stuckness” within a mundane, uneventful and monotonous life without constructive purpose (Delaney et al., 2011: 25; Knabe et al., 2009: 870; Moller, 1991: 11; Plattner & Gonzo, 2010: 173). It can thus be argued that boredom could pose a potential problem experienced by many poor unemployed people, and they might simply be spending their days “sitting around”, restricted by not having enough money to look for work every day (Moller, 1991: 8). Feelings of frustration and irritation may further be exacerbated by not having funds for excursions or entertainment of any kind (Delaney, Egan & O’Connell, 2011: 26). In extreme cases, being poor and unemployed is likely to imply constant deprivation, persistent hunger and the ongoing inability to afford basic
22 necessities (Plattner & Gonzo, 2010: 173). In fact, in such cases, daily routine is often one of no change, consisting of waking up, washing and heading to the roadside to look for work (Plattner & Gonzo, 2010: 173). As result, the literature argues, being unemployed could potentially steer people to cross the line between legitimate and criminal means of earning a living (Moller, 1991: 12).
In contrast, employment enables a person to achieve communal and personal goals, which, in turn, bestow social identity and social status (Van Hoye & Lootens, 2013: 87; see also Moller, 1991: 6). Unemployment, on the other hand, often involves negative and damaging emotions, feelings of helplessness, distressing thoughts and sleep deprivation (Delaney et al., 2011: 1 & 25; Plattner & Gonzo, 2010: 173). In fact, personal efforts to overcome unemployment and poverty most frequently override any other aspect of humanity and individuality, which frequently results in a loss of positive identity (Moller, 1991: 1 -11; Plattner & Gonzo, 2010: 173).
It can thus be said that unemployment entails more than just the loss or lack of income. An unemployed person’s emotional and psychological health is often linked to economic and non-economic deprivation associated with unemployment. This, coupled with poverty, intensifies a sense of exclusion, “stuckness”, and despondence. Furthermore, unemployment is strongly associated with a lack of public engagement with civil life, as unemployment often impacts a person’s ability to access information and to utilise platforms used to voice opinions as is explained in the next sections.
2.3 Access to information and access to platforms to voice opinions
2.3.1 Introduction
This section details the reasons why it is considered important to have access to information and to have access to platforms to express opinions – especially in the case of marginalised or overlooked communities – as is often the case with the poor. It also discusses the implications if a community or an individual does not have access to information or to platforms to voice thoughts and views.
23 2.3.2 Access to information and information poverty
The concept of information poverty is used to describe the negative consequences for individuals and communities that do not have access to information and that lack the opportunities, skills and abilities to obtain efficient access to information, to interpret it and to use it (Britz, 2004: 192). Information poverty includes a lack of fundamental information, a lack of financial resources to acquire information, a lack of technical and other abilities to access information, as well as a lack of sufficient intellectual capacity to filter, evaluate and benefit from information (Britz, 2004: 195). As result of information poverty, people may not become aware of opportunities available to them that may assist them in improving their standard of living (Barja & Gigler, 2007: 17). In other words, information poverty is the deprivation of basic capabilities to participate effectively in the broader society (Cañizález, 2011: 49). It can therefore be said that the poor are marginalised and often excluded, not only financially, but also in terms of access to information and communication.
As referred to by Cañizález (2011: 50), the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report noted that it is mostly the poor who are least able to obtain information about the decisions and public policies that affect them directly. This denies them core knowledge essential to their lives, such as news about free services, awareness of their rights and access to justice (Cañizález, 2011: 50). It is argued that not having access to information persistently keeps the poor disadvantaged as it prevents them from making use of available opportunities that may assist with upward mobility (Neuman, 2002: 5). Hence, increasingly, government and civil society are considering access to information as the key and underlying determining factor to enhancing impoverished communities’ and individuals’ capacity to exercise their rights, and participate in democratic processes and opportunities (Neuman, 2002: 15).
However, assuming that information poverty affects the financially poor universally by keeping them removed and excluded from vital information is an oversimplification (Hersberger, 2002-2003: 47). Just because the poor do not necessarily have constant and reliable access to media sources and the internet, does not by default imply that they are unable to obtain information they need or
24 require as they might have other means of doing so (Hersberger, 2002-2003: 47). In fact, some impoverished individuals feel that they have access to an abundance and even an overload of information through interaction with social service staff, health care providers and religious workers (Hersberger, 2002-2003: 57). In other words, one cannot generalise that all poor people experience a lack of information the same way. The poor do not collectively attribute their everyday struggles to the lack of information (Hersberger, 2002-2003: 57). Instead, they often consider a lack of resources, predominantly financial, the real burden of poverty (Hersberger, 2002- 2003: 57).
In spite of information poverty not automatically affecting everyone who is economically poor, wealthier and more affluent communities generally have better and more regular access to a wide spectrum of information. Poor communities, on the other hand, are more prone to information poverty, albeit not consistent and/or evident across all groups and individuals.
2.3.3 Voicing views publicly and voice poverty
Just as information poverty pertains to limited opportunities for receiving information that could potentially improve a person’s life, voice poverty is equally debilitating as the United Nations notes: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” (United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948: 5).
Access to information allows individuals an understanding of the role of government and other role players, and serves as an entry point for such issues to be debated in the public sphere (Neuman, 2002: 3). Consequently, access to information is coupled with access to expressing views in the public sphere, as Habermas (1989: 4) explains: “Only in the light of the public sphere did that which existed become revealed, did everything become visible to all.” The public sphere is “a constellation of communicative spaces in society that permit the circulation of information, ideas, debates – ideally in an unfettered manner – and also the formation of political will (i.e. public opinion)” (Dahlgren, 2005: 148). The public sphere can therefore be seen
25 as the prime space of communication between civil society and the state (Friedland, Hove & Rojas, 2006: 6). Furthermore, the public sphere is a networked structure which connects the strong political sphere and the weaker, informal public sphere – and it is in this fundamental space that journalism plays a vital role (Ahva, 2011: 119).
Having a voice means inclusion and participation in social, political and economic processes where people have the right to express thoughts and opinions (Tacchi, 2008: 12). Voice poverty, in turn, refers to denying people the right to participate in decision-making that affects their lives (Britz, 2004: 193; Tacchi, 2008: 12). Similar to information poverty, it is those who are affected by poverty that predominantly experience challenges in achieving this level of self-expression (Media Development, 2008: 17). Poor communities have limited chances and opportunities of contact with platforms that could be used for expressing opinions or making public disclosures about violations of basic human rights (Cañizález, 2011: 50). Furthermore, people living in poverty most often lack the assets to make their voices heard so that they can influence a wider social agenda (Mohr, 2008: 9). Obstacles that prevent those affected by poverty from voicing their views publicly could be economic, social, educational, logistical or political (Media Development, 2008: 17). Economic obstacles refer to the cost of equipment for production, operation, distribution and reception (Media Development, 2008: 17). Social obstacles include aspects such as language, and educational obstacles refer to literacy (Media Development, 2008: 17). Logistical obstacles entail transport, physical access and electricity, whereas political obstacles imply repression and the unwillingness of many power structures to allow democratic expression and a voice to the most marginalised groups (Media Development, 2008: 17).
Without access to voicing views in this way, financially impoverished individuals and communities are less able to engage in communicative acts to hold governments accountable (Mohr, 2008: 9). Yet, in order to fully understand poverty, it is essential that those who live in poverty have a voice to explain to those who do not understand what this experience is like, instead of external so-called experts assessing and describing poverty from a distance (Tacchi & Kiran, 2008: 32). People who are experiencing or have experienced poverty have something unique, 26 remarkable and distinctive to say about the causes and effects of poverty – they are the real experts, yet their outlooks, views, opinions and experiences are inadequately and ineffectively presented in the media (Robinson, Else, Sherlock & Zass-Ogilvie, 2009: 7). In openly discussing poverty, poor men and women most often express a sense of complete hopelessness, humiliation, and marginalisation as they characterise poverty as an all-embracing feeling of powerlessness emphasised and characterised by an inability to make themselves heard (Narayan et al., 1999: 32).
2.3.4 Access and the digital divide
A lack of access to information and access to opportunities to voice opinions frequently add to an increased feeling of voicelessness for marginalised communities (Micheli, 2016: 566). Furthermore, marginalised people often lack the required level of finance and sometimes skills necessary to create content to fully participate in public life (Micheli, 2016: 566; Tacchi & Kiran, 2008: 31-32). Two types of access can be distinguished, technical access and social access.
Technical access involves physical access and material or system access. Physical access means having access to a computer or another digital medium and an internet connection (Van Dijk & Van Deursen, 2012: 2). Material or system access, on the other hand, refers to costs associated with internet usage such as connections, subscriptions, software and services (Van Dijk & Van Deursen, 2012: 2). By implication, material or system access is where the distinction between the rich and the poor may become the most obvious, due to differentiated access to Wi- Fi, bandwidth quality and speed, download times and connections (Newhagen & Bucy, 2004: 267). Personal modems, fiber optic lines and professionally installed servers, by default, provide the best connections and the fastest information delivery times (Newhagen & Bucy, 2004: 267).
Aside from technical access – or the lack thereof that is generally known as the digital divide – different forms of access are implied on a social level. These include content access, motivational access, relative status of social group, and cognitive and skills access. Social access addresses the concern that many researchers and
27 policymakers share by suggesting that certain social and demographic groups are excluded from the information revolution (Newhagen & Bucy, 2004: 267). The understanding and perception is that some disadvantaged groups (and these vary depending on country, culture, gender associations and economic situations) are unable to penetrate the fast-moving world of technology and information (Newhagen & Bucy, 2004: 267). In this vein, Van Dijk and Van Deursen (2012: 2) argue that motivational access refers to people who have a lack of motivation to gain access to information and voice opportunities as they do not like the internet and do not attempt to use it unless they are forced to do so (Van Dijk & Van Deursen, 2012: 2). This means that social factors may affect the drive and motivation to use information technology as well as the ability to process and understand meaning once someone is connected to a communication system (Newhagen & Bucy, 2004: 267).
Another type of access on a social level pertains to usage, skills and cognition. Usage access refers to the opportunities people are allowed and given to use the internet, whilst skills access means the different proficiencies that people need to use the internet (Van Dijk & Van Deursen, 2012: 2). Cognitive access describes the psychological resources the user has in order to understand and work with the computer interface (Newhagen & Bucy, 2004: 268). It also addresses how individuals navigate the system, how they process information and to what extent they are able to engage in problem solving when making use of communication and information technologies (Newhagen & Bucy, 2004: 268).
Access to information and opportunities to publicly voice one’s views has not spread evenly across the globe (Bornman, 2014: 7; Nwagwu, 2006: 167). In fact, the divide between the developed and developing world has deepened due to digital information, and the gap between the so-called information haves and information have-nots has widened – this gap is referred to as the digital divide (Bornman, 2014: 7; Britz, 2004: 192; Nwagwu, 2006: 167). This separation between the information rich and the information poor is not only evident between different societies, but also between individuals who might even share the same culture or physical space (Britz, 2004: 192). The digital divide is thus an information and democratic gap between different socio-economic sectors of societies across the world affording the information haves with greater opportunities to advance themselves (Nguyen, 2012: 28 251; Nwagwu, 2006: 167). When viewed globally, the digital divide, in encompassing the lack of access to emerging information communication technology infrastructure, can be seen as one component of the larger problem of information and voice poverty (Gebremichael & Jackson, 2006: 269).
Sub-Saharan Africa epitomises the divide between the information haves and have- nots (Gebremichael & Jackson, 2006: 267). Some sources estimate that more than three-quarters of the sub-Saharan population have been marginalised due to having less access to information and communication technologies than the majority of other regions of the world (Gebremichael & Jackson, 2006: 271). The divides are as result of age, gender, rural and urban areas, level of education, unemployment, ignorance, illiteracy and poverty (Gebremichael & Jackson, 2006: 271). Yet, even though Africa is the region most excluded from activities in the information society, it has much to gain from a larger inclusion into the information age and world (Bornman, 2014: 7). Although South Africa is commonly assumed to be one of the most developed societies in Sub-Saharan Africa, data suggests that the country has a long way to go before everyone is fully integrated into the information society as individual use of the internet remains low (Bornman, 2014: 13). In order to advance South Africa’s position in the information society, the focus is predominantly on the establishment of infrastructure, but gaps are also identified in terms of educational levels, as information communication technology skills have been found to be limited among most South Africans since only a small percentage of the population uses computers regularly (Bornman, 2014: 13).
In other words, challenges around access to information and access to platforms to voice opinions could be technical (physical and material), or they can be on a social level (motivation, social status, usage, skills, or cognitive). The first group of forms of access that are largely the result of financial aspects is what is generally known as the first level of the digital divide. The second level of the digital divide pertains to the social aspects (Micheli, 2016: 566). The second level of digital divide includes factors such as the breadth or types of activities users conduct online, their digital skills and the opportunities they are provided through access to the internet (Micheli, 2016: 566). This implies that differences in the technical devices people use to access the internet, the location of access (i.e. autonomy of use), the extent of a person’s social 29 support networks, the types of uses the medium is accessed for and the person’s level of skill are prime factors in the digital divide (Hargittai, 2002: 3).
The digital divide is thus a technologically driven phenomenon, but with a profound social impact and it is caused by a variety of factors beyond basic access and skills such as levels of education, cultural and language diversity and the ability or inability to access and benefit from information (Nguyen, 2012: 251; Britz, 2004: 192; Gebremichael & Jackson, 2006: 269). The cost of access remains a major obstacle that excludes the majority from technology, but aside from the cost and physical access limitations, other challenges surround the deeply embedded bias in the technology itself, which favours those who designed the technology in the English language (Gigler, 2015, xxxii; Lemphane & Prinsloo, 2014: 750; Verzola, 2008: 6; Wijetunga, 2014: 721). Furthermore, English dominates the internet and its content but it also governs behind the scenes where the mark-up language, the programming languages and the microcode embedded in every machine is in English (Verzola, 2008: 6). This essentially implies that to master the technology, a user needs to master English first (Verzola, 2008: 6). Another aspect to consider is that the dynamic nature of the internet also entails that users have to constantly acquire new resources and skills to keep up with its fast-paced evolution (Nguyen, 2012: 251). This results in certain people always being at the top and others persistently behind (Nguyen, 2012: 251). Furthermore, despite earlier beliefs that information communication technologies will result in direct access to information and knowledge for everyone, the reality is that intermediaries are frequently needed to guide and translate information for users (Avilés, Larghi & Aguayo, 2016: 666). This underscores the role and need for “infomediaries” – those who promote, facilitate and assist with processing of information for people who do not yet have the skills to do so independently (Avilés, Larghi & Aguayo, 2016: 666). In other words, access to information and to platforms to voice opinion is more complex than only physically having access due to having the finances. It could also be socially determined.
One of the ways to gain access to voice opinions and to participate in public life is through information communication technologies (ICTs). Recent times have seen a proliferation of devices available for use to access information and to express and 30 disseminate views. With the introduction of the mobile phone, two streams of thinking emanated: the first argues that the mobile phone is the solution to problems associated with access to information and opportunities to voice opinions, whilst the second is more sceptical. In fact, criticism of mobile phone technology goes as far as to suggest that, in many cases, it has further disadvantaged marginalised and impoverished communities.
The most commonly reported obstacle for economically poor mobile phone users is the costs associated with making calls and using data. The expensive nature of data and calls prohibit impoverished mobile phone users from taking full advantage of the benefits that can be derived from owning a mobile phone for communication purposes and/or online information (Chigona et al., 2009: 14; Duncan, 2013: 35; De Souza e Silva et al., 2011: 416; Jennings, Lee, Shore, et al., 2016: 725; Ureta, 2008: 86; Watson & Duffield, 2015: 276). As a result, financial restrictions force mobile phone users to develop short-cut strategies and alternative methods to stay connected, such as making extremely short calls and concentrating the most information in the shortest period of time, sending please-call-me messages and making calls only to disconnect before the other person answers in the hope that they will phone back (Duncan, 2013: 40; Kreutzer, 2009: 51; De Souza e Silva et al., 2011: 416; Smith, 2011: 141; Ureta, 2008: 86). With regard to mobile phones being used as tools to access the internet for information, the cost of web-enabled smartphones and sufficient data to download picture and content-rich websites, prevents poor users from fully and effectively engaging with the mobile internet (Chigona et al., 2009: 14). This raises the question of whether poverty-stricken communities and individuals have actually experienced a shift from the industrial phase to a mobile network society, or, if instead, exorbitant communication costs have trapped people in their poverty, since the positive benefits of mobile phones cannot be realised if mobile phone usage is purely survivalist in nature (Duncan, 2013: 35).
Even the promise of mobile phones expanding one’s immediate networks holds little truth for those affected by poverty. In fact, in poor communities, mobile phones and the mobile internet do not consistently facilitate a virtual world where individual networks allow for an escape from local structures (Chigona et al., 2009: 14; Schoon 31 & Strelitz, 2014: 25; Ureta, 2008: 87). Instead, it has been found to actually strengthen and underscore communal networks that fix users to the local present where mobile phones are used to network with those in the same lower income bracket, since class and place of residence remain determining and discriminating factors (Kibere, 2016: 47; Schoon & Strelitz, 2014: 25). The term “stuckness” therefore reflects social immobility and the inability to escape existing physical networks in spite of the promise of virtual networks being made available and easily accessible through mobile phones (Schoon & Strelitz, 2014: 25).
Yet, in spite of these challenges associated with mobile phone technology, mobile phones remain highly desirable commodities within poor communities. In fact, literature indicates that due to the powerful aspiration to own and utilise a mobile phone, these pieces of modern equipment and technology are often draining on already resource-poor environments, diluting income away from more productive uses (Duncan, 2013: 35). This is true to the extent that poor mobile phone users regularly renege on buying important household basics such as paraffin and food, because their money is spent on airtime and data (Duncan, 2013: 41). The perceived importance of mobile phones is further accentuated by society’s pressing expectations of constant connectedness (Duncan, 2013: 45). The inability to connect and be connected is held against someone, professionally and personally, raising questions regarding their suitability as an employee, a friend or partner (Duncan, 2013: 45). These elements of necessity and prestige associated with mobile phone technology render people in poor communities possible targets of crime and violence when displaying a mobile phone (De Souza e Silva et al., 2011: 416; Jennings et al., 2016: 725; Schoon & Strelitz, 2014: 3; Watson & Duffield, 2015: 276). These problems regarding mobile phone ownership and the use of this technology challenge the perception and belief that mobile phones increase comfort and convenience – even the mobile phone’s mere “mobility” factor is brought into question.
Mobile phone users in poverty-stricken communities actually often do not share an experience of constant mobility and anytime, anywhere availability due to all the costs associated with “connectedness” (De Souza e Silva et al., 2011: 419; Skuse & Cousins, 2008: 17; Ureta, 2008: 83). In fact, mobile phones are frequently the only 32 phones present in family homes, and it is common practice to call someone to talk to another person (family member, neighbour or friend) who may be in the nearby vicinity, which results in the mobile phone owner serving as a relatively immobile point (De Souza e Silva et al., 2011: 419; Skuse & Cousins, 2008: 17; Ureta, 2008: 88; Watson & Duffield, 2015: 275). In contrast to more advanced and developed countries and communities where mobile telephones are the height of personal technology, for these households, mobile phones are essentially a device used for the collective good (Ureta, 2008: 88).
However, although mobile phones have certainly brought along exclusion and challenges, drawing focus to this technology’s role in the digital divide, it would be an oversimplification if it is not acknowledged how mobile phones have assisted those living in poverty. Rural and poor communities have witnessed a substantial increase in the availability of telecommunication services and this has helped poor families that are dispersed across countries and communities to stay in touch more easily and cost-effectively (Chigona et al., 2009: 14; Skuse & Cousins, 2008: 16; Watson & Duffield, 2015: 276). Mobile phones also assist in facilitating the negotiation of complex livelihood challenges that poor households face such as housing, formal and informal employment, and remittance seeking (Skuse & Cousins, 2008: 16). This supports the notion that mobile telecommunication is critical to social organisation, the maintenance of local and distant social networks, various forms of capital, livelihoods, health and welfare (Skuse & Cousins, 2008: 18).
In spite of the benefits that mobile phone technology has facilitated, the economic challenges associated with mobile phone usage amongst the poor appear to be similar across the globe, as a lack of funds has a clear and direct impact on a person’s ability to enter the digital telecommunication sphere. With the mobile phone having become an almost ingrained part of people’s constant “connectedness”, not being able to use this device optimally could further isolate those affected by poverty from communication, information and voice platforms.
Furthermore, while new information communication technologies appear to strengthen existing horizontal networks among impoverished people, these technologies are much more limited in improving vertical communication channels 33 between them and policy makers, companies or individuals that can assist with upward mobility (Chigona et al., 2009: 14; Gigler, 2015, xxxiii). For those who have solid social networks, but who are affected by voice poverty, increasing their information communication technology capabilities has virtually no impact on their communications with leaders and policy makers which exacerbates and stimulates their existing experience of voice poverty (Chigona et al., 2009: 14; Gigler, 2015, xxxiii).
2.4 Poverty and news media consumption
2.4.1 Introduction
This section investigates the relationship between poverty and news media consumption. The first section explores what constitutes news (news values) and the different types of news. The second section draws on the uses and gratifications theory in order to explain why people consume news. The last section of this chapter investigates the relationship the poor often have with news media by exploring their ability to relate to news media content in general, as well as media reports representing poverty, and how this affects their news media consumption patterns.
2.4.2 News and news values
News is carried by conventional or traditional mass media – such as newspapers, radio, television, and film – but sources and platforms have expanded with the development of newer communication technologies (Sundar & Limperos, 2013: 505). Today, the media ranges from and between a myriad of devices (smartphones, tablets, robots), to channels (internet, paid-for television, social networking sites) and new applications (especially smartphone applications) (Sundar & Limperos, 2013: 505).
The mass media fulfils various functions such as surveillance of the environment, correlation between events, the transmission of social value, and entertainment (Pavel, 2010: 106-112). In fulfilling an individual’s need for surveillance of his/her environment, the news media is primarily focused on providing information on economic, social, political and educational developments, enabling media audiences 34 to stay abreast of issues and events occurring in their community, country and the rest of the world (Du Plooy, 2009: 283). People thus use the news for surveillance of local and global events, ranging from stock market performances, traffic, weather and the actions and policies of political parties and government officials (Loveless, 2008: 176). Two types of surveillance can be distinguished, namely warning surveillance and instrumental surveillance (Pavel, 2010: 109). Warning surveillance alerts people of natural disasters, dangerous economic climates, corruption, abuse of power and general malfunction (Loveless, 2008: 176-177), whereas instrumental surveillance pertains to communicating information that is helpful and useful in everyday life such as fashion ideas, purchasing recommendations and tips on health issues (Pavel, 2010: 110). The function of correlation implies that the news media, in addition to supplying facts and figures, also provides context regarding the meaning of these statistics and other newsworthy information (Pavel, 2010: 110). The transmission of social value function refers to the media’s role in communicating and shaping the norms, values and rules of society, and the fourth function, entertainment, entails the media’s ability to provide messages and avenues for escapism and relaxation (Pavel, 2010: 111). Aside from the media offering opportunities for surveillance of the environment, correlation, transmission of social value, and entertainment, the media facilitates the dissemination of information and provides platforms to voice views publicly (O’Shaugnessy & Stadler, 2012: 4).
Defining the concept of news is no easy task since news is political – one needs to consider who produces it, for what purpose and whose world takes centre-stage in the news. Galtung and Ruge (1965: 64-91) first suggested that news characteristics contain elements of: frequency (an event or occurrence that happens at the same time as the news medium has a higher probability to be considered and selected as news than something that takes place over a prolonged time period), threshold (there is a certain threshold that needs to be passed before anything is recorded as news at all), unambiguity (events that can be understood clearly and interpreted without confusion have a higher likelihood of being selected as news), consonance (if the news selector predicts or wants certain things to happen, this increases the odds of this event being selected as news), unexpectedness (rare and unlikely events have a superior chance of being selected), continuity (events that have made headlines remain in the news spotlight for a while), and composition (the overall 35 balance and structure of a news bulletin or newspaper impacts what is selected to be featured) (Galtung & Ruge, 1965: 66-67). Furthermore, this early description of news emphasised elite nations and elite people as important criteria in determining what constitutes news (Galtung & Ruge, 1965: 68). Referencing something negative was also a considered a defining element in producing a newsworthy story, as well as reference to persons (Galtung & Ruge, 1965: 68). In addition, Galtung and Ruge (1965: 67) considered meaningfulness a news value, explaining that cultural similarity or proximity plays a part in what is selected as news both through the frame of reference of the news selector and the relevance to countries’ and communities’ culture.
Galtung and Ruge’s foundational work paved the way for newer conceptions of news values. Golding and Elliott (1979: 115-123) argue that the earlier news values of Galtung and Ruge placed far too much emphasis on intricate detail and criteria when pragmatically all that is required for something to be considered news is audience, accessibility and fit. This implied that a newsworthy item should firstly be relevant and interesting to the audience, it also needs to be known to the news organisation and those working there, and it needs to fit with the overall production agenda and existing knowledge about the subject (Golding & Elliott, 1979: 115-123). In considering these approaches to news values, Allern (2002: 145) added that the mere content and attributes of news items are not the only determining factors at play when news stories are selected. He added that “commercial news criteria” such as the news organisation’s budget, the personnel and the cost of covering a lead have a direct impact on whether a specific topic will be selected to be featured, since the private media industry is primarily profit-oriented (Allern, 2002: 145). However, Allern (2002: 145) conceded that in order for a news story to receive the attention of a media organisation, the content needs to be of a sensationalistic nature that will capture an audience’s attention. This is in line with some of the initial news values of Galtung and Ruge (1965: 64-91) and it ties in to the importance of the audience that Golding and Elliot (1979: 115-123) highlighted.
Conley (2002: 42) singled out several news values, namely impact, conflict, timeliness, prominence, human interest and the unusual. He also included currency and prominence (Conley, 2002: 42). Currency entails the right time for certain news 36 pieces such as Christmas or end of year, whilst proximity not only refers to cultural or emotional proximity but also to geographical proximity (Conley, 2002: 42). Again, several similarities can be found between these and other taxonomies of news values. Harcup and O'Neill (2001: 279) shared the news values of Galtung and Ruge (1965: 64-91) such as reference to powerful elite, celebrity and persons, bad news and surprise (Galtung and Ruge’s unexpectedness), newspaper agenda (Galtung and Ruge’s consonance), magnitude (Galtung and Ruge’s threshold), relevance (Galtung and Ruge’s meaningfulness), and follow-up (Galtung and Ruge’s frequency). They also added good news and entertainment as characteristics that are incorporated in several news stories.
More recently, Harcup and O'Neill (2016: 1-19) considered the emergence of social media as a factor that challenges the very existence of general news values. Social media bridges the traditional division between the roles of journalists as active (selectors, producers, gatekeepers) and of audiences as passive (receivers, consumers) (Harcup & O'Neill, 2016: 10). Since social media users can generate, share, recommend and like content, their role and preferences determine what is considered news, and this overrules the traditional role of power and authority that used to predominantly reside with media organisations (Hermida et al., 2012: 815- 824; Harcup & O'Neill, 2016: 10). For this reason, in addition to the news values that Harcup and O’Neill developed in 2001, they added exclusivity, conflict, audio-visuals, shareability and drama to the qualities news audiences want to find and interact with when engaging with news (Harcup & O'Neill, 2016: 13).
An individual’s news preferences may further be directed towards certain types of news, or different categories of news. Within the field of media and news media consumption, distinctions are drawn between soft news and hard news. Hard news is considered to be concerned with politics, social matters and economics whereas soft news generally entails human interest pieces, gossip and unusual or sensational events (Lehman-Wilzig & Seletzky, 2010: 37-38; Patterson, 2000: 3). In addition to the differences in subject matter between hard and soft news, these two types of news also have other distinguishable features. Soft news is less time-bound and can be published or broadcast at any time (Patterson, 2000: 4) while hard news demands immediate reporting as result of its short lifespan and the importance 37 associated with such news (Lehman-Wilzig & Seletzky, 2010: 38). Soft news is also seen to be more subjective, practical, incident-based and personality-centred (Patterson, 2000: 4) where the factual nature of hard news requires clear objectivity (Lehman-Wilzig & Seletzky, 2010: 38).
Soft news is frequently described as “infotainment” and “tabloidization”, considered to be the “dumbing down” of actual news (Patterson, 2000: 3; Nguyen, 2012: 706). However, this simple dichotomy separating hard and soft news has come under scrutiny from scholars. It is argued that hard news and soft news are not necessarily mutually exclusive, nor are they unambiguously defined, but that, instead, an overlap between these two types of news can be found (Lehman-Wilzig & Seletzky, 2010: 41). In fact, soft news consumers are often exposed to political news and coverage on wars and foreign crises as result of entertainment-focused soft news also covering these topics, albeit in a different manner (Baum, 2002: 91). These engagements thereby provide soft news consumers with alternative avenues for receiving information by actually presenting it in the form of entertainment (Prior, 2003: 155-156). However, even though a soft news consumer may, by accident, be engaged in hard news content, soft news consumers’ media habits are motivated by their need for entertainment and not by a desire to obtain information (Prior, 2003: 167; Baum, 2003: 187; Patterson, 2000: 15). Soft news consumers do not intentionally engage with the media to derive a mix between information and entertainment, and if this is the outcome, it occurs without their deliberate knowledge or intent (Prior, 2003: 167).
Although the line between hard news and soft news is often blurred in some media broadcasts and publications, analyses of audience characteristics reveal a consistent and stable pattern. Studies indicate that education levels impact a preference for soft or hard news, with tabloid and human interest content (soft news) proving more popular amongst individuals with lower education levels (Baum, 2007: 122). This presents the argument that for people with low formal educational levels, the media is mostly use to provide entertainment, and not as a source of news.
In summary, in order for something to be considered news, it needs to meet certain criteria, commonly referred to as news values. These generally include 38 frequency/follow-up, threshold/magnitude, unambiguity, continuity, composition, consonance/newspaper agenda, surprise/unexpectedness, celebrity, elite nations, powerful elite, bad news, meaningfulness/relevance, proximity, currency, good news and entertainment. Furthermore, people with lower formal educational levels tend to prefer soft news (human interest stories) over hard news (politics, economics, foreign issues). The internet – especially social media – has changed this paradigm, rendering the audience meaningful role-players within the news selection process. However, despite these general trends, each person consumes news media for very specific reasons as is explained in the next section.
2.4.3 Reasons for news media consumption: the uses and gratifications theory
In the early media effects tradition, drawing on simplistic media usage explanations such as the hypodermic needle model and magic bullet theory, it was argued that the media had a direct influence on the audience and, according to this one-dimensional perspective, once the message reached its target audience, its outcomes and persuasive effects would be immediate and evident (Neuman & Guggenheim, 2011: 171).
However, more recently the active audience theory and audience-centred media studies focus on people’s conscious choices regarding their media usage patterns and these theories view the audience as the decisive component in the relationship between media and audience (Baran & Davis, 2015: 197). This means that the more recent theorising about why people consume certain media incorporates how people use the media and what they do with it instead of what the media does to people (Baran & Davis, 2015: 197). Media consumption, specifically when taking into consideration audience-centred research studies, refers to the active choices people make in terms of how they select to use and respond to media (Lancaster, Hughes & Spicer, 2012: 16). In other words, media consumption behaviours are observable acts of media exposure and can be seen as a conscious selection process (LaRose, 2010: 194). This is explained in the rest of this section by drawing on the uses and gratifications theory, after which the complexities involved in gratifications sought and gratification obtained is investigated.
39 The uses and gratification theory assumes that audiences use the media in unpredictable ways, through selection, interpretation and integration with other daily activities to satisfy and please themselves and that these ways are not necessarily how media producers intend the content to be used (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012: 101). Rubin et al. (2003: 129) summarise the uses and gratifications theory as follows:
(a) media behaviour is purposive, goal-directed and motivated, (b) people select media content to satisfy their needs or desires, (c) social and psychological dispositions mediate that behaviour and (d) the media compete with other forms of communication – or functional alternatives – such as interpersonal interaction for selection, attention, and use.
Before the wave of new media forced a re-evaluation of the traditional uses and gratifications theory by Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch (1973-1974: 509-523), the following were considered primary reasons for interacting with traditional media sources: diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and surveillance (McQuail, Blumler & Brown, 1972: 135-165; O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326; Lewis, 2008: 37). Diversion encompasses the material the media uses that provides people with an escape from their daily routine (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326; Payne, Dozier, Nomai & Yagade, 2003: 116; Lewis, 2008: 37). Personal relationships refer to the media providing content that satisfies the needs for companionship and sociability (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326; Lewis, 2008: 37). This is done in two ways – first, when a person is alone, they may use the radio and television as company and they may think they know media personalities and story characters as if they were personal friends (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326). Second, knowledge of media programmes and broadcasts frequently serves as a focus point and conversation topic in interaction with others (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326; Lewis, 2008: 37). With personal identity, the media content is used symbolically to explore, challenge, adjust or confirm one’s own sense of identity and self (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326; Payne et al., 2003: 116). This involves comparing oneself, one’s situation, values and outlooks with scenarios portrayed in the media, and in this manner the media provides ways by which we assess, locate and find ourselves (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326; Payne et al., 2003: 116; Lewis, 2008: 37). Surveillance pertains to how the media provides material and 40 content that gratify the need for information about the immediate and wider social world – information regarding issues and events that influence an individual’s life (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326; Payne et al., 2003: 116; Lewis, 2008: 37). This specifically pertains to news media consumption.
However, the rise of new media has affected the ability of the uses and gratifications theory to explain the ways in which people engage with the media, especially now that social media and the internet have become instrumental media sources (Kamarck & Gabriele, 2015: 1-11; LaRose & Eastin, 2004: 358-377; Ruggiero, 2000: 3-37; Hermida et al., 2012: 815-824). This led to Sundar and Limperos (2013: 513) developing a different set of uses and gratifications obtained from interaction with the internet and social media.
The reasons (uses and gratifications) associated with new media usage are modality, agency, interactivity and navigability (Sundar & Limperos, 2013: 513). Modality is divided in realism (I know the content is real), coolness (the content is unique, distinctive and stylish), novelty (it is new) and being there (it helps me immerse myself in places where I cannot physically be) (Sundar & Limperos, 2013: 518). Agency includes agency enhancement (it allows me to have my say and assert my identity), community building (I can connect with others, expand my social network and enhance my social capital), bandwagon (I can review others’ opinions before making a decision and I can compare my views to those of others), filtering/tailoring (I can set my preferences and avoid topics I do not want to see) and ownness (it feels like mine as the content reflects my opinions and choices) (Sundar & Limperos, 2013: 518-519). Interactivity comprises interaction (I wish to interact with the system and perform various tasks), activity (I am an active and not passive participant), responsiveness (it responds to my requests and demands) and dynamic control (it allows me to be in charge) (Sundar & Limperos, 2013: 519). Navigability is broken up into browsing/variety-seeking (I can obtain an assortment of information by skimming through links and articles), scaffolding/navigation aids (the device is easy to use and the interface assists me in following steps), and play/fun (I enjoy it and I escape into a different world) (Sundar & Limperos, 2013: 520).
41 Whichever set of reasons is best applied to any media usage patterns, the point remains that audience members use the media in order to obtain some kind of gratification. One person’s media behaviour would differ from the next, but their engagement will be centred around deliberate motives. Noticeably, where the wealthy or the upper-class mostly tend to use the media to gain information on education, political, social and economic developments and occurrences, the poor tend to engage with the media predominantly for entertainment (Putnam, 2016: 211). This corresponds with the findings of Baum (2007: 122), who suggests that lower education levels are linked to the consumption of soft news purely for entertainment purposes. Motives, however, are sometimes not as clear as the user may believe or think.
Not all media users feel that their needs are satisfied through their media consumption, and for this reason it is productive to differentiate between gratifications sought and gratifications obtained. Gratifications sought represent and explain motives for certain media engagements that are based on expectations about media content, whereas gratifications obtained are the perceived personal outcomes that are met through media consumption (Hwang, 2005: 4). It is therefore understood that gratifications sought refer to what people think about a medium before they start using it and can be defined as the motivations for choosing a certain medium (Hwang, 2005: 4-5). Gratifications obtained, on the other hand, are the actual fulfilment of needs by the chosen medium (Hwang, 2005: 5). This does not, however, necessarily imply that what the audience wants in terms of gratifications sought is always what the audience gets – gratifications obtained (Hwang, 2005: 5). An example of this is that someone may watch the evening news because they believe they want to derive information about the world from it, but in fact they pay very little interest and watching the evening news is merely a routine and time-filling exercise.
The uses and gratifications theory pertains to motives surrounding general media engagements. This general explanation of reasons why people consume media productions should be read against the background of news content and how poverty is framed in the news media, how the poor is represented, and whether the poor can relate to news content. 42 2.4.4 The media, news, and the poor: relatability, representation, and media preferences
The news media consumption of the poor is only in part explained through the four basic purposes of the media, and the uses and gratifications theory, as is explained in the previous section. The news media consumption of the poor is furthermore impacted by how the media represents news in general, from which perspective news is written (from a perspective of affluence or not), how poverty is framed, and news about issues related to poverty. To elaborate, this section explores the relationship between the poor and the media in asking the question whether the poor can relate to media content that foregrounds the interests of the wealthy, as well as how poverty is represented in the media. It also considers the challenges traditional media is facing with regards to consumption habits, including those of the poor.
2.4.4.1 Poverty and relating to media content
The mass media most often serves the deep-rooted interests of the wealthy and the powerful and these elites in society often use the media to preserve their idealised form of capitalism (Delaney, Egan & O’Connell, 2011: 15; Garland, 2015: 7). By implication, there appears to be a structural media bias against the poor as programming and reporting tend to focus on the wealthy and the famous to a much greater extent than they feature the poor and the working class (Dionne Jnr, 2008: 15). This, in essence, means that the media tends to concentrate on a relatively small part of society while the plight and challenges of poor people or the struggling working class are rarely prioritised (Dionne Jnr, 2008: 15). In fact, the interests and concerns of people living in poverty are not sufficiently exposed and broadcasted as the poor often do not constitute a viable market in terms of economic value, therefore issues of concern to them are particularly and consistently marginalised (Media Development, 2008: 16-17). This leads to a situation where the mainstream media, generally speaking, fails to represent the genuine voices of poor people; instead it appears devoted to entertainment and the manipulation of political information – often in the interest of the wealthy (Dagron, 2004: 3). If this is the focus of the mass media, it does not encourage dialogue or understanding that will assist society in coping with the issues of increased poverty and marginalisation, which means that the media is failing in representing economic, social and cultural challenges (Dagron,
43 2004: 3).
As part of media coverage, it is important to draw specific attention to news media which also often does not proportionally and adequately report on poverty, impoverished communities and the challenges those who are affected by poverty face (McKendrick, Sinclair, Irwin, O’Donnell, Scott & Dobbie, 2008: 31). Poverty is insufficiently and ineffectively portrayed in the news media for a variety of reasons: it is viewed as difficult to cover, too depressing and gloomy for the readers and the audience, and is often considered worthy but not quite newsworthy (Robinson et al., 2009: 5). Furthermore, poverty seldom appears as an independent news item as it is usually portrayed in relation to other more sensational or “important” issues such as politics (McKendrick et al., 2008: 31). A reason for this skewed and inadequate reporting on poverty in news media is often as result of organisational pressures and restrictions (Kim, Carvalho & Davis, 2010: 564). The political inclination or the view of the publisher can be interpreted as pressure or “the norm” reflected in the editorial voice and tone associated with publications or broadcasts of the particular news media organisation (Kim, Carvalho & Davis, 2010: 564). Pressure will also be commercial in nature as news organisations aim to deliver profit, and stories that attract larger audiences become the obvious and attractive choice (Kim, Carvalho & Davis, 2010: 564).
For these reasons, the actual voices of those living in poverty themselves are almost consistently and noticeably absent from news reports and broadcasts relating to the poor (McKendrick et al., 2008: 31; Robinson et al., 2009: 7; Tacchi & Kiran, 2008: 32). Generalisations, clichés and customary rhetoric are instead most regularly used to describe poverty (McKendrick et al., 2008: 31). As is indicated in the previous sections, poverty is not considered one of the prime news values. In fact, there is the propensity for the news media to focus on extreme and dramatic articles and stories, deliberately avoiding the reality of everyday experience (Robinson et al., 2009: 5; Van Gorp, Blow & Van de Velde, 2005: 1 -36). Critics of this practice are concerned that news reporting on poverty too frequently defaults to stereotypes which results in the labelling of people and places (Robinson et al., 2009: 5; Van Gorp, Blow & Van de Velde, 2005: 1-36). Such news reporting causes poverty to be portrayed as an abstract occurrence instead of as the result of social inequalities or uneven 44 distribution of resources (McKendrick et al., 2008: 31).
News thus appears to be slanted towards those who have the power and economic authority to influence what is portrayed. In addition, it seems that news is sculpted around the interest of those who can afford to partake, purchase and consume regularly. This deliberate exclusion from news reports as well as the dramatic or negative portrayal by news sources will impact how those affected by poverty engage or, on the contrary, avoid any types of news media avenues. This gives rise to the question of how the media portrays poverty – if and when it is portrayed.
2.4.4.2 Representation: negative and stereotypical media portrayal of poverty
How poverty and the poor are represented in the media is important as the mass media helps to set the agenda of public discourse. Although agenda setting by the media is perhaps not always successful in telling people what to think, it is definitely effective in telling people what to think about (Baran & Davis, 2015: 264). Agenda setting techniques include single-story representation, stereotyping and framing. In this vein, Adichie (2009) argues that repeat representations create a single story – a singular or one view of a group of people and their culture, and that if people are constantly represented in a particular negative way, their dignity, equality and humanity may be at stake. Stereotyping is often the media’s shorthand technique of representing groups of people as having the same attitudes, behaviour traits and characteristics (Greer, 2008: 69). This assumption that all people who are put into a categorizing group, are alike and that their identifiable characteristics are intrinsic to their nature, implies, in a limiting way, that features and qualities belonging to one or two individuals can be attributed to entire communities and groups (Greer, 2008: 69; O’Shaugnessy & Stadler, 2012: 409). This type of stereotyping frequently mirrors the power relations that exist in a society, and this is often associated with prejudice, marginalisation and ridicule of smaller, subordinate groups (Greer, 2008: 69; Harper, 2014: 83-97; Van Gorp, Van de Velde & Blow, 2005: 1 -36; Wood & Hendricks, 2009: 16). The concept of framing by the media is also a persistent theme when discussing how groups are portrayed. Framing organises thoughts by highlighting certain events and facts as important and side-lining others as invisible (Ryan & Gamson, 2006: 13). This type of external packaging involves a strategic dialogue
45 intended to shape a particular group into a coherent image or movement (Ryan & Gamson, 2006: 13). Du Plooy (2009: 226) describes framing as the mass media cultivating a certain view or opinion of social reality by contextualising and sculpting this view to fit into a certain pre-selected frame of reference. Framing furthermore becomes effectively more elevated when a selected issue or event receives repeated coverage (Du Plooy, 2009: 226; Harper, 2014: 83-97).
Poverty is often portrayed in a negative light, either through stereotyping, framing or telling a singular story. Media groups create and maintain social perceptions of the poor by depicting them as outsiders and “not like us” (Garland, 2014: 5; Harper, 2014: 83-97). Furthermore, social challenges the poor face are frequently used as sensational storylines attributing intentional self-destructive behaviour as the reason for the poor’s financial demise (Wood & Hendricks, 2009: 16). This narrative implies that “those” people are “lazy, poorly behaved and incompetent”, and the message serves to underline the belief that the poor are guilty of abusing benefits and that they are the cause of their own and the broader economic crisis (Garland, 2014: 5, 6 & 9; Harper, 2014: 83-97). Media accounts of this nature are offensive to individuals who are affected by financial and social challenges and this, in turn, may cause a purposefully avoidant attitude towards the news and news agencies. Furthermore, to consistently fail in addressing the structural causes of poverty in anything but sensational terms, is to never get beyond rediscovering the poor over and over again (Moss, 1987: 54).
However, recent empirical research in South Africa indicates that the mass media does cover poverty-related stories and agendas, and that there are fewer negative stereotypes about poor people nowadays as their situation is sympathetically acknowledged as structural (Chiumbu, Reddy, Bohler-Muller, Gumede, & Mtshengu, 2016: 14). Poor people in South Africa are presented as victims and much coverage of poverty highlights that the poor are often invisible and unheard, especially on policy matters (Chiumbu et al., 2016: 14). This research has found, however, that South African media coverage gives little attention to the contextualisation of poverty and that the media can do more to encourage debate around the causes of poverty, and more specifically, solutions to it (Chiumbu et al., 2016: 14).
46 This gives rise to the question whether the greater availability of news and information in general benefits the poor specifically in terms of improved accessibility of news (Donner & Gitau, 2009: 1). This speaks to the question of the digital divide discussed earlier, where it was argued that unless news is less expensive, and potentially less exclusive of the poor, a deduction could be that it might not help the poor all that much to gain information and have platforms for expressing themselves in order to make an impact in the public sphere to address their situation. Aside from this debate, the growth of the internet also brings other possibilities for accessing news. This will be discussed in the next chapter, which will focus on sources of news other than traditional media.
2.5 Conclusion
Poverty is deprivation not only of income and food, but also of infrastructure, opportunities and access to systems and services. People who experience poverty do not only suffer as result of their basic needs not being met, they are also often excluded from prospects and facilities that might assist them in alleviating poverty. Education and employment, supposed solutions to poverty, are often the very same variables that keep the poor stuck in their circumstances. The vicious cycle of either not being able to afford education, or neglecting this in lieu of low-wage employment to alleviate immediate pressures, often robs the poor of educational opportunities that may be the key to upward mobility. Employment, as an obvious answer to alleviating poverty, also often requires some sort of resource that is frequently unobtainable by the poor. Cost barriers hindering the unemployed from pursuing job opportunities affect the self-identity, social status, and daily structure and routine or those affected by poverty. All these elements contribute to the social exclusion and “stuckness” experienced by the poor, and underscore the difficulties associated with breaking free from the cycle of poverty and the exclusion that goes along with it.
Furthermore, poverty is often linked to a lack of information and platforms to voice views, which may impact the ability to participate in public life and the broader society. By having access to information and news, a person will be aware of their rights as well as opportunities that can assist them in improving and enhancing their
47 quality of living. Likewise, the ability to obtain information results in better understanding of government processes, justice systems and civil engagement, which will enable a person to make decisions, understand their position and, if necessary, address violations. But if, as result of poverty, people are robbed of platforms and gateways either to obtain valuable information or to express themselves, to request assistance or vocalise concerns, their experience of powerlessness and exclusion will be further exacerbated as they will directly and acutely be prevented from entering the wider world or society as equal and valued participants. In fact, if access and opportunities to information and voice platforms are not present, it may lead to a divide between those who have access and those who do not. People living in poverty often find themselves lacking in practically all spheres, and are considered the groups most vulnerable to suffering from information poverty, voice poverty and the digital divide.
This segregation or marginalisation also pertains to news. News (hard news as well as soft news) tends to be of sensational value – either because it contains elements of bad news, surprise, magnitude, entertainment and good news, but also because it concentrates on the actions of the powerful and the elite. Furthermore, it prioritises the newspaper or editor’s agenda, the overall composition of the publication or bulletin, and it gives preference to content and follow-up topics that are relevant to the masses. This, coupled with profit-oriented decision-making, centred around what sells and who buys, may result in the poor being excluded yet again, not only from coverage, but also from participation. The general media definition of news almost automatically constitutes the poor as unimportant, invisible and perhaps even forgotten. This raises the question as to the reasons why the poor engage with media.
The standard functions of the media are surveillance of the environment, correlation between events (context), the transmission of social value, and entertainment. Individuals engage with the media to gratify certain needs and to derive predetermined value. Drawing on the uses and gratifications theory, the reasons people interact with the mass media are to meet their needs for diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and/or surveillance. The rise of new media has added and refined some of these categories to allow for additional classifications and 48 interpretations. Noticeably, the poor tend not to use the media for information, but mostly as a source of entertainment. However, like many other users, they are not always clear on the real reasons for their engagements with media.
With regard to the media itself, it is important to consider that the media tends not to view poverty as particularly critical, but rather focuses on content that is entertaining and that attracts large audiences who have vested interests in what is being portrayed. This may represent a further distance between people living in poverty and media consumption. In fact, aside from non-portrayal, it has been argued that when the media portrays poverty, it tends to do so negatively or stereotypically. Again, this may affect the extent to which people affected by poverty are able to relate to the media content.
In short, it has been argued in this chapter that poverty does not only pertain to not having enough finances to sustain oneself, but that the implications of financial need are multi-dimensional as a result of the complex interplay of many factors. Although not universally true for all poverty-stricken communities, financial poverty is generally associated with lack of formal education, employment, routine and fulfilment in daily life. Furthermore, poverty is most often linked to a lack of access to information that may be crucial to improving one’s living conditions, and also to a lack of opportunities to voice views and express concerns. Moreover, news representations of the poor often do not cover poverty, or when they do, they often misrepresent and stereotype poverty with the result that the poor often find little in the news that they can identify with. The implication is that the news media does not bring information to them that gratifies their news information needs or that could help them to advance in life or to better their situation. However, as research has shown, even though these tendencies are true for most poor communities, they cannot be universally applied. Against the background of these general trends about poverty and news media consumption, the next chapter explores existing research literature for information and theoretical views on the news sources preferred by the poor.
49 Chapter 3: Poverty and news through other sources
3.1 Introduction
The challenges associated with traditional mass media regarding content relatability and negative portrayal of the poor, call for research of impoverished or marginalised communities regarding their use of news sources other than traditional mainstream media. For this reason, this chapter explores online news and social media as news sources, as well as news obtained through interpersonal communication.
3.2 Online news
The previous chapter focused on traditional media as a source of news. The way in which news is disseminated, however, has changed significantly with the infiltration of new media – the internet and social media specifically.
The advent of the internet brought changes to many printed newspapers and magazines, as they now have the option to develop online versions, and today many radio and television channels are producing material that is available on the internet. Such online migration is part of the increased availability of information worldwide (Castells, 2010: xxxii). Today, information spreads around the globe in seconds and even in the Global South, ICTs, the internet and new media devices make information more accessible than in pre-internet days (Singh, 2011: 8). The production and consumption of news today differs from pre-internet news when people used to wait for their morning papers and sat down in front of the television for the morning or evening news to be broadcast at a specific time (Alejandro, 2010: 10). News audiences from diverse backgrounds are increasingly going online for their news, and whilst television, newspapers and radio are still prevalent, available and used, competition is growing and escalating (Alejandro, 2010: 10).
Online publishing bypasses much of the expensive costs and procedures required to produce and publish newspapers and magazines (Flaxman, Goel & Rao, 2016: 298). Media organisations deliver news on multiple platforms, driven to do so not only by cost-effective distribution but also by the potential of specific targeting and increased 50 advertising revenue (Doudaki & Spyridou, 2015: 272). However, the promise of online news spearheading a revolution in journalism has not come to fruition – as yet (Quandt, 2008: 735). In spite of its potential, online content produced by large media organisations as an alternative platform still adheres to similar formal structures as newspapers, it generally lacks multimedia content, and it provides limited opportunities for users to interact with journalists directly (Quandt, 2008: 735). Furthermore, the news values of such online content remain unchanged from that which is seen in their equivalent traditional media sources (Quandt, 2008: 735).
This raises the pertinence of alternative news platforms – ones that allow for creativity in terms of content and functionality providing individuals of diverse backgrounds opportunities to access news and to voice their views and opinions. The participatory and interactive nature of social media gives users the ability to directly interact with news, either through the creation thereof themselves, or by allowing users to comment and share posts (Purcell, Rainie, Mitchell, Rosenstiel, & Olmstead, 2010: 2). This social experience associated with social media and social network sites render these platforms crucial sources of news – in all communities.
3.3 Social media as a news source
3.3.1 Introduction
This section explores the nature and workings of social media, specifically social networking sites, as sources of news in impoverished communities. It further investigates issues around echo chambers, filter bubbles and fake news in relation to social media.
3.3.2 Social media
Traditionally, the way news was discovered, and ultimately covered and broadcast, was through a reporter or journalist who was given a lead or who went out to find a story (Alejandro, 2010: 9). Today, many news stories, such as Michael Jackson’s passing, the London bombings and the Sichuan earthquake in China, are picked up on social media through Facebook posts or Tweets, and by the time the story is
51 assigned to a reporter, to perhaps uncover deeper context, the story is in some form already visible and available on social media (Alejandro, 2010: 9 & 14).
While social interaction has always affected and influenced the distribution of news, social media is now considered central to the way people experience and engage with news (Hermida et al., 2012: 815). Social network sites (SNSs) provide news to citizens through the posts that are shared by other SNS users (Choi, 2016: 817). Users can access and read the news that other more informed users such as media organisations, journalists or friends post (Hermida et al., 2012: 815). Yet, unlike the vertical, one-directional and top-down nature of news via traditional mass media, SNSs allow for more active styles of news processing through the capabilities and functions of posting, forwarding, recommending and commenting (Choi, 2016: 817). News consumption therefore becomes a social act, socially-engaging and socially- driven, with users and the public part of the news process (Purcell et al., 2010: 4). In other words, the essence of SNS news consumption lies in sharing news experiences with others and this sharing is done in two distinguishable ways: either through internalising by those who receive news or through externalising by those who actively share and provide news to others (Choi, 2016: 816-819).
In fact, as result of the sharing and recommendation features of social network sites, there appears to be a shift away from conventional news sources (Pariser, 2011: 66). The trust factor of social network site content is a considerable motivator in swinging the pendulum towards social media as a preferred source of news – the notion that friends and family know more about your interests than does a foreign editor sitting in an office (Pariser, 2011: 66). Furthermore, while traditional media sources often fall victim to agenda setting, framing and internal and external political pressures determining content, social media appears less burdened by these restrictions. Gatekeepers like editors and advertisers control and regulate traditional media content, but when it comes to social media, the gatekeeping is insignificant as content generators are often users themselves (Chaffee & Metzger, 2001: 366 & 370; Sharma, 2015: 75). Hence, where gatekeeping and monitoring determine content generation in traditional media (even on their online websites), surveillance performs a similar function in terms of production and consumption of social media (Sharma, 2015: 75). In addition to external or political restrictions not affecting 52 content production and delivery of social media sources, the rise of the information age of fast and easy access to a wealth of information has infiltrated communities and individuals of all socio-economic backgrounds, albeit not evenly or equally (Donner & Gitau, 2009: 1).
In this vein, three types of social media content creation can be identified: skilled content, social and entertainment content, and political content (Blank, 2013: 590). Skilled content involves maintaining a personal website, blogging or writing stories and poetry (Blank, 2013: 597). These online activities require considerable personal commitment and a certain level of technical and rhetorical skills, hence this is referred to as skilled content (Blank, 2013: 597). Social and entertainment content entails visiting social network sites for posting photos and uploading video or music files, and political content refers to sending emails, sharing posts and commenting on and discussing social and political issues (Blank, 2013: 598). The characteristics of the groups behind producing each type of content vary, but whilst the elite have no or minimal impact on the creation of skilled content and social and entertainment content, political content is positively associated with elite status (Blank, 2013: 590). In fact, participatory internet involvement through the creation of general social content is more common amongst lower-income and marginalised users than is the case with other groups (Micheli, 2016: 565).
This raises the question of how and where exactly the poor fit into the world of social network sites where news consumption has taken on an interactive, creative and social format. Research has found that the economic background of users does not negatively impact social media access, engagement or participation (Micheli, 2016: 565). Where the digital divide may affect other internet-related activities, different and diverse digital skills and education levels do not appear to impact Facebook access, as groups of different social backgrounds and income levels conduct activities on Facebook with similar frequency (Correa, 2016: 1095; Micheli, 2016: 576). However, although education levels and income do not affect the frequency with which lower income users access social network sites, more educated and skilful individuals use Facebook mostly for information and mobilising purposes (Correa, 2016: 1095). Nevertheless, the level of internet access and the place of access and autonomy of use do not impact social media usage, as even low-income 53 users are consistently finding ways to immerse themselves in digital media technology in order to communicate and interact (Ahn, 2011: 159).
In other words, the news industry is finding itself in a period of transformation, an age where the passive-receiver-of-news culture is being replaced by participatory social media where the ordinary citizen, irrespective of social and educational background, has the ability to control and impact media technologies through telling their own stories in powerful and creative ways (Alejandro, 2010: 16). As liberating and inclusive as this new media landscape may seem, the often uncontrolled or unverifiable nature of social network site content raises concerns about the quality of news on social media and the purpose of such news creation and distribution.
3.3.3 Social media and echo chambers
Social media users tend to choose articles and news feeds that are aligned with their own political opinions and general views (Flaxman, Goel & Rao, 2016: 299). This means that news via social media can be set to simply reflect and confirm the individual news’ preferences and preconceived ideas – this has been described as an echo chamber, as news that enters a person’s social media sites have been preselected to confirm and thus reinforce their viewpoints (Flaxman, Goel & Rao, 2016: 299). In other words, the internet becomes a one-way mirror that reflects a person’s own ideas, beliefs and judgements (Pariser, 2011: 61). Even though there is an abundance of news and information available on the internet, a person’s settings on social media can promote news selection that tends to exclude information that does not confirm the user’s own views (Sunstein, 2001: 6-8; Quattrociocchi, Scala & Sunstein, 2016: 14). In this way, social media users confirm their own beliefs and preferred narrative, and reject information that gives other viewpoints and opinions (Quattrociocchi, Scala & Sunstein, 2016: 14).
Such selective exposure via social media news therefore could serve to reinforce and strengthen existing attitudes, opinions and beliefs (Iyengar & Hahn, 2009: 34). While users on the same side of political opinion regularly comment, like and share content posted by similar-minded individuals and pages, interaction across opinion and ideological divide is thus limited and infrequent (Grömping, 2014: 39). These
54 choosy engagement patterns, or echo chambers, result in a situation where one- sided and even biased social media users rarely engage with contradictory or discrepant information (Grömping, 2014: 39).
However, although social media allows people greater choice and more control over their information exposure, people do not necessarily use these filtering capabilities to isolate themselves from opposing ideas (Garrett, 2009:281). Although individuals may be less likely to read news that challenges their opinions, this effect is not total nor is it universal, as some social media users do not limit their range of information in this way (Garrett, 2009: 281). It can therefore be said that the presence of echo chambers will differ from one user and individual to the next, much the same as how some people are more open-minded in conversations than others.
3.3.4 Social media and filter bubbles
In the previous section it was indicated that a prime characteristic of social media is that it can be personalised by customising feeds to meet the needs of each internet user (Prakash, 2016: 18321). This can be done deliberately by the user (echo chambers), or simply through the use of algorithms set by the platform as result of the navigational behaviour patterns of the internet user (Prakash, 2016: 18321). In other words, algorithms (complex, artificially intelligent filters) used on social media platforms select which information to show users (Frary, 2015: 69). This process of filtering takes into account how frequently users like, comment and/or share related material (Frary, 2015: 69). It also monitors which organisations and people a user regularly interacts with (Frary, 2015: 69). In other words, even without their conscious knowledge, users actively contribute and share explicit data about themselves by purchasing products online and by liking items, visiting internet sites and by who their friends are on social media (Bozdag, 2015: 15). This level of personalisation created by a user on social media is processed by the internet platform and used to market suitable products and services to users aligned with the inclinations they portray (Pariser, 2011: 15, 16 & 111). The benefit is that the internet and social media sites “feed” individuals what they enjoy seeing, and advertisers acutely and deliberately follow each and every click in order to gain information that is of value and benefit to them (Pariser, 2011: 13, 126 & 127). As result, despite a
55 social media user feeling that the internet and social media makes choices that s/he may prefer, the internet and social media are no longer free, independent spaces (Pariser, 2011: 113). Instead, social media are commercially biased, much like traditional media, and these increasingly personalised platforms serve, amongst others, the interests of marketers and advertisers (Pariser, 2011: 126-127).
In addition to advertisers and businesses using personal information obtained through social media interaction, filter bubbles are concerning for supporters of inclusive political communication (Bozdag, 2015: 62). Filter bubbles conceal or remove opposing viewpoints that clash with a user’s own opinions (Bozdag, 2015: 62). The problem is that the user’s likes and dislikes are guessed by algorithms and information relevant for the user may sometimes be hidden or even eliminated (Prakash, 2016: 1832).
This is particularly damaging to minorities and the economically disadvantaged, who need special exposure in order to use their voices to reach out to the larger public (Bozdag, 2015: 62). Filters that only reflect what a user already agrees with usually do not include such minority voices (Bozdag, 2015: 62). If filters only show users what they consider relevant, the only successful way to reach the broader public is either by means of advertisements or through modifying and digitally altering filters (Bozdag, 2015: 62). These are improbable avenues for the poor, since only the wealthy can afford to hire people who can override or create algorithms for them, and advertising, in itself, is an expensive avenue (Bozdag, 2015: 62).
Consequently, through the application of algorithms, ideological segregation is amplified and users’ sharing and commenting functionalities are utilised to circulate and promote ideas, services and products among their immediate social communities (Flaxman, Goel & Rao, 2016: 299). This would imply that even though a user does not necessarily choose to avoid certain material (echo chambers), what users are presented with may be beyond their own immediate control, unless they purposefully search for something different. In this vein, psychologist Dr Robert Epstein (quoted in Frary, 2015: 73) argues “As long as the filtering is secret, beyond our control, and financially motivated, we should be extremely concerned. Filtering
56 on any massive online platform such as Facebook is rapidly becoming the most powerful form of mind control that has ever existed.”
However, in spite of these apprehensions, Borgesius, Trilling, Möller, Bodó, de Vreese and Helberger (2016: 10) are of the opinion that currently filter bubbles are not detrimental. They argue that in distinguishing between self-selected personalisation where people actively choose which content they wish to see (echo chambers), and pre-selected personalisation where algorithms personalise content for users without the user’s wilful and deliberate involvement (filter bubbles), no empirical evidence warrants any strong concerns and worries about filter bubbles. However, they warn that the conversation around filter bubbles remains imperative. Personalisation on news sites and social media feeds is still in its infancy, but as personalisation technology improves and as personalised news content starts becoming people’s main and perhaps only information source, serious problems could arise in terms of objectivity and even democracy (Borgesius et al., 2016: 10).
3.3.5 Social media and fake news
The increased ability of almost anyone and everyone to participate in generating news brings into question the reliability and validity of such news. Since no formal gatekeepers strictly monitor the accuracy of content submitted online, the authority behind publications and the truthfulness of online articles and posts is unclear.
On social media, fake news misleads readers through news articles, bulletins and posts that are verifiably false (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017: 213; Johnson & Kelling, 2017: 3). In the past, fake news has predominantly been associated with political satire on late night televised comedy shows, but more recent studies find fake news or incorrect information to be distributed through social media (Balmas, 2012: 430). Some of the fake news on Facebook is driven by ideology, but a large portion is motivated exclusively by the economic incentives that Facebook has created (Benton, 2016: 38). In fact, fake material, when it links to Facebook users’ preconceived views and opinions or sense of identity, often “spreads like a wildfire” (Benton, 2016: 38).
57 Crucially, one needs to distinguish the defining characteristics of fake news, namely if the author intended to deceive readers, and if the motivation for creating fake news is financial or not (Verstraete, Bambauer & Bambauer, 2017: 1). Furthermore, a distinction can be drawn between different types of fake news – hoax, propaganda, trolling and satire (Verstraete et al., 2017: 1). A hoax is a news story that purposefully contains false content that will mislead and deceive readers (Verstraete et al., 2017: 1). The reason for creating a hoax is usually financial (Verstraete et al., 2017: 5). Propaganda, on the other hand, is also purposefully biased false information with the direct intent to mislead, but the motivation for creating and circulating this is to promote a political cause or point of view (Verstraete et al., 2017: 6). Trolling, another form of fake news, is intended by the author to mislead readers in an attempt to derive personal amusement (Verstraete et al., 2017: 7). Satire also contains purposefully false content and the intent behind it may be financially oriented, yet the objective is not to deceive readers but to challenge their views or provide entertainment (Verstraete et al., 2017: 5).
In considering the dangers of fake news, it is the creation of content that intends to purposefully deceive readers for financial or political gain that is of concern. As discussed earlier, the costs of producing content on social media are marginal (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017: 221). This increases the profitability of small-scale, short- term strategies regularly applied by fake news producers who, in intentionally attempting to mislead readers, refute and ignore the importance of building a long- term reputation for quality, validity and truth (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017: 221). Furthermore, the slight slices of information viewed on phones or news feed windows (characteristics of social media) make it challenging to evaluate an article’s authenticity and accuracy (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017: 221). Users of social media tend to segregate ideologically (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017: 221). Therefore, people who get news from Facebook and other social media sources are less likely to receive or seek evidence about the true state of the world that could potentially counter or expose an ideologically aligned but fake story (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017: 221).
In other words, just as traditional media presents challenges in terms of content compromises, social media in its developed stage also falls victim to practices and 58 capabilities that affect the reliability, authenticity and autonomy of content. This essentially means that even on these newer media platforms, poverty can potentially be portrayed in a specific light.
3.4 Interpersonal communication as a news source
3.4.1 Introduction
The purpose of this section is to investigate interpersonal communication as a source of news. The section first details older theoretical views on how information is obtained from other people by drawing on the two-step flow of information theory. Secondly, it explores newer and more complex theories of the flow of information in a network of people in an interdependent system.
3.4.2 Individuals as news source – the two-step flow of communication
The two-step flow of communication theory, originally developed by Paul Lazarsfeld and Elihu Katz in 1955, can be described as the understanding that information passes from an information source through opinion leaders to opinion followers (Baran & Davis, 2015: 112). When applied to the mass media, opinion leaders expose themselves to information via the mass media (as the first step in the flow of information), and disseminate the information to a wider, general audience (as the second step in the flow of information) (Hong, 2016: 46). Opinion leaders are thus relied upon as main sources of information for less active mass media users (Hong, 2016: 46). This approach accepts that certain types of communication have a great impact on opinion leaders who then, in turn, engage in interpersonal discussions around it with friends, neighbours and colleagues (Norris & Curtice, 2008: 4). Opinion leaders are considered to be individuals who pay close attention to political, social and economic information, and who discuss the information that they view as convincing with others and, in the process, work to persuade others to adopt the information, opinion, or course of action (Nisbet & Kotcher, 2009: 329). Within the two step-flow of this communication paradigm, opinion leaders do not necessarily hold formal positions of power or prestige, but they serve as the connective communication tissue or intermediaries that alert and update their peers and
59 community members on important matters and events (Hong, 2016: 46; Nisbet & Kotcher, 2009: 329).
Although the two-step flow of communication theory originated decades ago and was initially applied only to conventional mass media, the role of opinion leaders in the two-step flow of communication has proven significant in the space of online and social media (Hong, 2016: 44; Karlsen, 2015: 301-318). As discussed, opinion leaders tend to have a high level of political and social interest, they are motivated and have an urge to obtain the latest, most relevant knowledge, and are therefore often increasingly willing to adopt unfamiliar or new technology (Hong, 2016: 44; Mak, 2008: 4). As result, through their discussions on Facebook and other social networking platforms, they are instrumental in the fast distribution of political and social information, as their contributions, input and comments are absorbed and further disseminated by their friends or followers (Hong, 2016: 44; Karlsen, 2015: 301).
Certain characteristics appear to be present in such opinion leaders – they tend to be socially gregarious and dynamically involved in communal activities; they also play a participative role in a variety of groups, and they possess significantly more ties to diverse social circles than the average person (Keller & Berry, 2003: 4; Nisbet, 2006: 11). What truly sets opinion leaders apart from opinion followers is their directed activism: they attend community meetings and political events, they write and contribute their views on social network sites and they actively try to persuade others of their point of view (Karlsen, 2015: 301; Keller & Berry, 2003: 4). In fact, is has been suggested that that the main differentiators between opinion leaders and opinion followers are opinion leaders’ technological awareness and their willingness and drive to take a public stand to share their views (Vishwanath, 2006: 323). The role and importance of opinion leaders is especially valuable and meaningful in interdependent and interconnected communities, not only in terms of community engagement but also in the dissemination and circulation of information (Donohue, 2006: 4).
The two-step flow of information theory and its application to the internet environment shows that, even though the spectrum of communication has evolved to 60 adopt different formats, the role of opinion leaders especially in small, close-knit communities should not be underestimated (Donohue, 2006: 4). These contributors play a considerable role in diffusing and distributing information obtained from different mass media sources.
3.4.3 Social networks as news sources
By drawing on the network theory, this section explains how the flow of information and the interdependency of people in a social network relate not only to obtaining news and information, but also to poverty. This section investigates how social capital in a network is related to poverty, and the link between social capital, media consumption and poverty is explored.
3.4.3.1 The network theory and poverty
Any social network consists of a set of actors or nodes, and the relationships between these actors are referred to as ties or edges (Sauer & Kauffeld, 2013: 28; Borgatti & Foster, 2003: 992). Nodes within a social network include individuals, groups, organisations and societies, and the ties may fall within a level of analysis that include individual-to-individual or individual-to-group (Wasserman & Faust, 1994: 8; Borgatti & Foster, 2003: 992). A broad range of types of ties is identified by network researchers – communication, formal, material, proximity and cognitive (Katz, Lazer, Arrow & Contractor, 2004: 308). Communication ties refer to who talks to whom or who gives information or advice to whom; formal ties indicate who reports to whom; and affective ties entail who likes whom and who trusts whom (Katz et al., 2004: 308; Borgatti & Foster, 2003: 992). Material or work-flow ties are about who gives money or other resources to whom, while proximity ties refer to who is spatially or electronically close to whom and cognitive ties entail who knows whom (Katz et al., 2004: 308). Networks are typically multiplex, as an actor may share more than one type of tie with another actor (Katz et al., 2004: 308).
Wellman (1988: 20) argued that researchers should study communities and networks, and he emphasised the relations between units (or people). He further argued that behaviour should be interpreted in terms of structural constraints on activity, instead of in terms of inner forces within units that drive behaviour towards a 61 desired goal (Wellman, 1988: 20). Drawing on the ideas of Wellman, Marques, Bichir, Moya, Zoppi, Pantoja and Pavez (2008: 10) argue that relationship networks are frequently cited as instrumental factors contributing to certain financially debilitating circumstances, as is the case with poverty. Narayan et al. (1999: 118) claim that the rich are almost consistently well-connected, with access to resources, and normally need no external facilitators or catalysts to organise and mobilise themselves. The poor, on the other hand, generally suffer from “network poverty”, which is seen as a factor contributing to their financial poverty (Van Eijk, 2010: 469):
Network poverty refers to having a personal network including merely or mostly resource-poor people and, thus, lacking ties to resources such as knowledge, wealth, skills, power and information (Van Eijk, 2010: 469).
The network perspective can therefore be used to understand poverty, as people’s social interconnectedness and the ways these personal networks are integrated, even in spatial segregation situations, influence survival strategies and living conditions (Marques et al., 2008: 12). In fact, any kind of network poverty will be a major risk factor for, and in certain cases even the primary cause of, poverty, unemployment, homelessness and other forms of misery (Osterling, 2007: 124; Perri 6, 1997: 26). In other words, strong social networks that cut across different social circles are needed to alleviate poverty, and the lack of such networks has a dire effect on the wellbeing of the poor.
3.4.3.2 Social capital in networked communities
Recent increased interest in social capital is focusing on its role in helping people to either “get by” or, on the other hand, “get on” (McCabe, Gilchrist, Harris, Afridi & Kyprianou, 2013: 8). Within the literature on network studies, it is argued that such individuals have more or a different kind of social capital than others and that impacts their level of poverty and upward mobility (Gowan, 2010: 60).
Social capital is the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalised relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition – or in other words, to
62 membership in a group – which provides each of its members with the backing of the collectivity-owned capital, a “credential” which entitles them to credit in the various senses of the word (Bourdieu, 1986: 248-249).
Yet, Bourdieu does not necessarily see these resources as a heart-warming and touching network of social connections, but instead as a metaphor to describe the harsh realities of social inequality (Gauntlett, 2011: 132). Essentially, he implies that success is not about what you know, but who you know (Gauntlett, 2011: 132). Putnam (1995: 66) also considers social capital to be social life networks, norms and trust that enable participants to act together effectively in pursuing shared objectives. However, in contrast to Bourdieu, Putnam (1995: 66) sees social capital as a resource for economic improvement that has the potential to mitigate social inequality, while Bourdieu defines it primarily as a resource through which the elite maintain privilege (Gowan, 2010: 52).
Taking both these views into account, it can be argued that access to social relationships and resources is not enough to bring about productive outcomes (Beaudoin & Thorson, 2004: 380). These social networks need to be mobilised, and contacts and resources have to be utilised to alleviate poverty (Beaudoin & Thorson, 2004: 380). Mobilisation of social networks leads to the sharing of information, coordination of activities and the making of collective decisions (Beaudoin & Thorson, 2004: 380). Social capital is the resources that result from social networks and social trust that people share which, when mobilised, result in positive behaviours and outcomes on individual and collective levels (Beaudoin & Thorson, 2004: 380).
Different forms of social capital and relationship networks are evident. The strength of an interpersonal tie is a combination of the amount of time, emotional intensity, intimacy, mutual confiding and reciprocal services that characterise and define the strength of the tie (Granovetter, 1973: 1361). In the context of social capital, strong or weak ties are referred to as bonding or bridging social capital (relationships and networks) (Gowan, 2010: 51; Granovetter, 1973: 1364; Woolcock, 2001: 71-72). Bridging capital is loose ties spread across different social environments that are most likely to result in economic benefits (Gowan, 2010: 51; Granovetter, 1973: 63 1364; Woolcock, 2001: 71-72). Bonding capital (or strong ties), on the other hand, leads to close reciprocal relationships that may help circulate and distribute resources but seldom have more positive effects (Gowan, 2010: 51; Woolcock, 2001: 71-72). Bonding capital creates and maintains the connections and associations that keep individual community groups viable, whereas bridging capital invites connections and links between otherwise disconnected groups or public organisations (Kavanaugh, Reese, Carroll & Rosson, 2005: 3). Communities with bridging social capital as well as bonding social capital are the most effective and successful in organising collective action (Granovetter, 1973; Kavanaugh et al., 2005: 1).
Recent contributions to social capital also include linking capital, which is created and obtained through interaction between people in different roles and capacities or positions of power, authority and influence (McCabe et al., 2013: 8). An example of linking capital is between agencies that provide services and the people who make use of such a service for advice, support or guidance (McCabe et al., 2013: 8).
In essence, the level and type of social capital a person possesses does not only refer to one’s relationship and networks but also to the type and quality of these. The next section explains that impoverished communities and individuals do not necessarily lack social capital, but that the types of ties they have may just not be the right ones.
3.4.3.3 Social capital and poverty
Lewandowski (2008: 27) uses the premise of social capital to explain what he refers to as “social poverty”. Firstly, he distinguishes between horizontal and vertical social capital, which can be equated to bridging and bonding capital. Horizontal social capital is networks of social trust and connections that are accessible and appropriable within a clear and specific socio-economic or cultural layer (Lewandowski, 2008: 32). Vertical social capital, on the other hand, is also networks of social trust and connections, but connections that are available and appropriable among various socio-economic and cultural levels (Lewandowski, 2008: 32). Lewandowski (2008: 27) describes social poverty as an absence or shortage of
64 vertical capital. This corresponds with weak tie (or bridging capital) poverty as part of network poverty (Van Eijk, 2010: 469; Osterling, 2007: 130). Weak tie poverty implies a network dominated by strong ties that do not span across diverse walks of life; if those with whom an individual has ties are closely connected to each other, it creates redundancy in a person’s network (Van Eijk, 2010: 478; Osterling, 2007: 130). Weak tie poverty also applies when few of those with whom an individual has weak ties have the ability to act as network brokers between different segments of society (Van Eijk, 2010: 469; Osterling, 2007: 133). Putnam’s view that social capital is the missing link in understanding what makes particular societies or social groupings successful concludes that high social capital does not assist in overcoming poverty traps if it is of the wrong kind – strictly bonding capital (see also Gowan, 2010: 51).
In other words, a combination of different types of social capital is needed at all levels in order to sustain a balanced economic life, and the costs and benefits of this will have either positive developmental or negative consequences (Saracostti, 2007: 520; Woolcock, 2001: 78). In poor communities, the socio-economic characteristics of the residents appear to nurture insufficient social capital or the wrong kinds of social capital (Osterling, 2007: 123). The lack of bridging social capital and weak ties that extend beyond a person’s immediate social group, which could provide opportunities not available in a person’s own group, may exacerbate the social isolation of poor neighbourhoods (Osterling, 2007: 130; Gowan, 2010: 51). Whereas primary networks and bonding capital often provide immediate assistance, they do not enhance upward mobility of poor people, and access to and cultivation of bridging capital networks are essential to alleviate poverty (Adato, Carter & May, 2006: 245; Saracostti, 2007: 520; Santini & De Pascale, 2012: 19). It can therefore be said that the environments of impoverished communities often only nurture existing strong ties and bonding capital, but that access to external and bridging capital are essential to overcome poverty and its effects. This raises the question of whether network poverty can be overcome (Afridi, 2011: 10). In other words, can social networks be made more accessible?
Social networks are not inherently and characteristically inclusive, which is problematic when it comes to improving an individual’s social capital (Afridi, 2011: 65 10). In fact, networks often rely on their exclusivity to create beneficial monopolies (Afridi, 2011: 10). Class differences also maintain existing social networks as people of one class are unlikely to interact with a perceived lower class (Afridi, 2011: 10). However, government, the private sector, charity organisations and other groups could implement certain initiatives to encourage social networking. Firstly, it is important to note that cash benefits and donations do nothing to promote the development of weak ties and bridging social capital (Perri 6, 1997: 34). Neither do job training and job advice programmes, since these only cultivate relationships with other unemployed or poor persons that will not assist an individual with upward mobility due to new ties being formed (Afridi, 2011: 11).
However, studying and volunteering opportunities stimulate the formation of new weak and meaningful ties (Saracostti, 2007: 525; Perri 6, 1997: 42). Strategic human service agencies could therefore employ interventions to promote the accumulation of social capital for poor individuals (Weaver, 2012: 70). Belonging to different groups or clubs such as neighbourhood improvement organisations, hobby or garden clubs, sports groups and groups affiliated with faith communities can increase social capital since these groups are not generally exclusive in terms of socio-economic background or social standing (Weaver, 2012: 70; Saracostti, 2007: 525). Community investments connected to environmental improvements such as planting trees and constructing small parks and community meeting can reap benefits beyond their immediate objective through increasing social capital (Weaver, 2012: 70). Most importantly, in order to alleviate poverty, community development initiatives and patterns need to shift from the classical geographical paradigm and its preoccupation with neighbourhood, and acknowledge that poor people need the same geographically open, diverse, low-density networks that middle class people have (Perri 6, 1997: 42; Saracostti, 2007: 525). These programmes and interventions should therefore concentrate less on building formal organisations and more on developing innovative ways of building networks across and between cities (Saracostti, 2007: 524). One way is to increase usage of electronic communications systems and social network sites, since the poor have generally been found to have access to these platforms, although this depends on the cost of access (Ahn, 2011: 159, Micheli, 2016: 565).
66 Lacking the right type of social ties and social capital is directly linked to poverty since relationships with others who can open doors and present viable opportunities are often what is needed in order for a person to be liberated from their crippling circumstances. As difficult as it may be to cultivate weak or bridging ties, there are initiatives and activities that can promote this. A lack of “the right” social capital should therefore not be seen as a permanent state, but instead something that can be addressed and remedied.
3.4.3.4 Social capital and media consumption
Social capital is the ability to play a central role in social networks. The media has an influence on social capital, as is explained in this section.
The early media theories warned against the negative consequences of high television consumption for social ties. In this vein, it was argued that frequent television watchers are “homebodies” and their television watching activities come at the expense of almost every social engagement outside the home such as meeting with friends, family gatherings and informal conversations (Putnam, 1995: 679). Furthermore, television watching has an effect on the outlooks and views of people (Putnam, 1995: 679) as heavy viewers of television tend to perceive the world that the television portrays as more or less real (Baran & Davis, 2015: 287). Heavy television watchers are therefore abnormally suspicious and sceptical of the compassion or kindness shown by other people, and they also tend to overestimate crime rates (Putnam, 1995: 679; Baran & Davis, 2015: 287). Hence, regular and fanatic viewers of television can be seen to cultivate an attitude that the world created through television is an accurate depiction of the real world we live in (Baran & Davis, 2015: 287).
In contrast to this sceptical view regarding general television content, television news consumption is viewed positively. In this vein, Beaudoin and Thorson (2004: 381) associate watching television news with civic engagement, and reading hard news in newspapers with an increase in civic engagement and interpersonal trust garnering, as news provides people with information that can lead to debates and discussion. This promotes opportunities for people to interact and it encourages public
67 participation in events and actions that may benefit society as a whole (Beaudoin & Thorson, 2004: 381). Knowledge of news can also assist in enhancing a community's sense of identity. It can therefore be said that the news media can stimulate and build trust and social networks by focusing on positive parts of the community and democracy (Beaudoin & Thorson, 2004: 381). In short, knowledge of news affords a person social capital.
Likewise, internet usage can either detract from personal, face-to-face interaction, which may have an adverse effect on social capital, or the internet can be used to gain information and increase social networks (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007: 1146). In fact, Wellman, Haase, Witte and Hampton (2001: 436) found that online interaction, especially on social network sites, often supplements and sometimes even replaces in-person engagements, and that online activity can mitigate loss of contact with offline people. Engagement with social media platforms is connected to increased membership in political and voluntary organisations and it enhances involvement in boycotts, petitions and demonstrations (Kavanaugh, Reese, Carroll & Rosson, 2005: 1; Geber, Scherer & Hefner, 2012: 17 & 19; DiMaggio, Hargittai, Neuman & Robinson, 2001: 320). Furthermore, social media helps to increase the number of ties across social groups, as individuals who are members of multiple social groups use the internet to strengthen and support both bonding and bridging types of social capital (Kavanaugh et al., 2005: 1; Zhao, 2006: 844; Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007: 1143; Ellison, Vitak, Gray & Lampe, 2014: 863). In that sense, social media facilitates community life beyond the strict and determined measures and boundaries of physical networks (Gil de Zúñiga, 2012: 329; Utz & Muscanell, 2015: 422).
Considering that it is mostly a lack of bridging capital that affects the poor, and that leads to an inability to escape poverty, the effect of social media is of importance, specifically on the establishment and maintenance of weak ties. Ellison, Steinfield and Lampe (2007: 1161) found a strongly positive correlation between social media use and building and preserving bridging social capital. The mere nature of social network sites allows for users to initiate and support online interaction and relationships fairly cheaply and easily (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007: 1162). It can therefore be said that social media lowers the barriers to participation through its 68 affordability, which may encourage a person who would have hesitated under different circumstances to initiate communication (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007: 1162; Gil de Zúñiga, 2012: 329; Utz & Muscanell, 2015: 422). This enables users to create and maintain larger, dispersed networks of relationships from which they could potentially benefit in terms of extracting resources (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007: 1146).
The connection between social capital and poverty is profound, as a lack of the right social capital would appear to keep the poor stuck in their debilitating and restrictive environments. However, there appears to be a link between social capital and media consumption, including news media consumption, and interaction and engagement on social network sites either to obtain information or to voice views. It is against this background that the impact of networks and social media platforms forms part of this study.
3.5 Conclusion
In the previous chapter, it was argued that poverty is multi-dimensional and that it frequently implies restrictions on education and employment. This habitually results in the poor “becoming stuck” in exclusion and deprivation since opportunities for upward mobility are limited. As result, a lack of routine and structure becomes the everyday experience of the poor – a life devoid of social contacts and productive collaboration to address their situation. Information and voice poverty are further components contributing to the isolation the poor suffer since they are often, either as result of a lack of opportunities, skills and/or abilities, removed from information sources and platforms to voice their views as equal and valued members of society.
Considering that vital information does not always reach the poor, one should also consider, not only a lack of access to news sources, but also the very fundamentals of what constitutes news – hard news as well as soft news. The underlying news values of reference to the powerful elite and celebrities combined with elements of magnitude and entertainment that focus on editors’ agendas and composition of newspapers do not always consider the poor and often do not apply to their
69 circumstances. This brings into question why the poor engage with the media. The standard uses and gratifications theory suggests that people engage with the media to meet their needs for diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and/or surveillance. The poor, however, are most partial to using the media as a form of entertainment (diversion) and not so much as a source of information.
This may be as result of conventional news values not applying to the poor, rendering the content as something they cannot relate to, and it may also be due to deliberate negative or stereotypical portrayal of the poor by the media. In general, this may drive the poor to use other alternative sources to the mass media as sources of information – information more applicable and relevant to them. In this vein, Chapter 3 explores social media as well as interpersonal communication and networks as sources of news.
Social media has become an essential and accessible source of news. The trustworthiness associated with content generated and regulated by users for users has bypassed the restrictive nature of gatekeeping often implemented by traditional media organisations. As a result, even the poor are increasingly finding ways to use social network sites as preferred sources of news, and as platforms to share information and express views.
The reliability and validity of news distributed via social network sites is not always guaranteed, however. In fact, the sheer abundance of online information (as result of low barriers to entry in terms of producing content) does not necessarily imply that users and news consumers are exposed to a myriad of different views as opposed to one or two opinions – those of editors or subjective journalists. In fact, the literature referred to above points to the presence of echo chambers (users’ deliberate choices to exclude contradictory views), filter bubbles (algorithms determining the information users are presented with) and fake news (intentionally false information). This directly disputes the “trustworthiness” of news distributed on social network sites and social media.
Just as social media often relies on the personal dissemination of news, interpersonal relationships as direct sources of news, specifically in close-knit 70 marginalised communities, are an important component when it comes to understanding the news media consumption practices of the poor. The two-step flow of communication traditionally referred to the way in which opinion leaders distributed information obtained from the mass media to the rest of the community – typically face-to-face. However, the presence of opinion leaders also exists on social media platforms – they are usually individuals who are receptive to adopting technical skills and willing to use these in actively campaigning, educating and convincing others. The two-step flow of information is therefore also applicable to social media.
This touches on the importance of networks, virtual and actual, not only as sources of news and information, but also as vessels for upward mobility. In fact, a person’s networks and relationships (social capital) are considered to be contributing factors to their economic environments. So much so that theorists have described social capital as the “missing link” in explaining poverty – attributing poverty to the absence of the right ties (meaningful weak ties to those with power and influence in society). Within the context of this study, it is therefore imperative to consider how news media and media sources contribute to the accrual, or potential destruction, of social capital. The overall sentiment appears to be that television viewing hinders the formation of social capital whereas use of social media enhances it. This, however, raises the question whether social media and social network sites can truly increase a poor person’s social capital in terms of creating and maintaining important bridging or weak ties with individuals or organisations that could provide economic enhancement opportunities, since conflicting ideas exist on this subject. This provides a rich backdrop to the understanding of news media consumption habits within the Pango Camp informal settlement.
71 Chapter 4: Methodology
This study investigates the news media consumption of residents of the informal settlement Pango Camp by enquiring from them how they define news, how they use different news sources, and why they use the news sources they do. This chapter explains the research design for this study, namely the research approach, the method of data collection, the sampling procedure, the method of data analysis, the limitations to the findings of this study, as well as ethical considerations.
4.1 Research approach
In order to achieve the aims of this study, a qualitative approach was used. With a qualitative study the researcher aims to integrate the research experience into the participants’ natural environment as much as possible (Chesebro & Borisoff, 2007: 5 & 9; Terre Blanche & Durrheim, 2002: 43; Delyser, 2008: 234). This specific study was conducted within the participants’ home setting – Pango Camp. With regard to the actual interviews, qualitative studies often allow for subject-based communication which gives participants the freedom to select topics and to transition from the one to the next (Chesebro & Borisoff, 2007: 9; Liamputtong, 2013: 56-62 & 71). In fact, in qualitative studies, the subject-intentionality of the study means that the researcher wishes to capture and preserve the unique use of language, symbols, codes and communications methods used by the participants (Chesebro & Borisoff, 2007: 9). Qualitative research results obtained are pragmatic as they have an immediate purpose in the sense that they provide direct insights into a social process (Terre Blanche & Durrheim, 2002: 43; Chesebro & Borisoff, 2007: 9). In other words, for qualitative researchers, issues, ideas and questions are explored within the setting in which they arise with the objective being to understand and interpret the meaning of the experience (Delyser, 2008: 234; Grossoehme, 2014: 109; Atieno, 2009: 14).
Qualitative research predominantly gathers insight into subject matters at hand by moving from abstract engagement to direct experience, and within the field of communications, research in action focuses on thinking, questioning and interpretation (Arnett, 2016: 1). The implication of using the qualitative approach for
72 this study is thus that the researcher engages in a comprehensive study around news media engagement practices with the participants – considering and inferring their views and perceptions as well as their understanding of their own behaviour. This provides an in-depth understanding of Pango Camp participants’ news consumption patterns. Since qualitative research is concerned with “what”, “why” and “how” questions, producing rich data surrounding words, opinions and images rather than numbers (Ormston, Spencer, Barnard & Snape, 2013: 3; Grossoehme, 2014: 119; McLeod, 2015: 196; Du Plooy, 2009: 148), the qualitative approach lends itself to this study.
Aside from the benefits that come with deep and insightful qualitative research, studies within this paradigm are often considered more ethical than other conventional research since no underlying premise or assumption “contaminates” findings (Shaw, 2003: 12). Furthermore, in qualitative research the relationship between participants and the researcher is normally an equal one with both parties sharing equal voices, which enables the participants to maintain control of the process (Shaw, 2003: 12). Another considerable benefit is that qualitative analysis allows for fine distinctions and subtle nuances to be included, as data does not need to be configured into a finite number of classifications and categorisations (Atieno, 2009: 17).
In other words, the reason the qualitative approach was selected is because the research is concerned with how participants respond to news media, why they like or dislike it, what aspects they respond to favourably and which ones they do not (see O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012: 98). Furthermore, the reasons for their engagement, or perhaps avoidance, and their own interpretations of their news media consumption practices can only be uncovered in depth and detail using the qualitative approach.
4.2 Method of data collection
The interview is probably the most widely used method of obtaining information employed in qualitative research (Edwards & Holland, 2013: 1; DiCicco-Bloom &
73 Crabtree, 2006: 314). The purpose of the research interview is to explore the views, experiences, beliefs and motivations of individuals regarding certain topics and subjects (Gill, Stewart, Treasure & Chadwick, 2008: 292). It therefore provides deeper and richer insight into social phenomena than what could be provided through quantitative methods, such as questionnaires (Gill et al., 2008: 292).
In depth, individual semi-structured interviews as a method of data collection was chosen for this study since semi-structured, open-ended questions do not simply invite yes or no answers, but instead, encourage exploration and reflection (Davies & Hughes, 2014: 28). Furthermore, they follow a thematic, narrative approach centred around pre-determined topics, but the structure of the interview remains fluid, flexible and adaptable since the participant navigates much of the process (Edwards & Holland, 2013: 3).
However, as much as qualitative, semi-structured interviews invites participants to explore their own thoughts and feelings through allowing them time and freedom to ponder questions and interchange topics, there is always a purpose and a level of structure associated with this style of interview (Daymon & Holloway, 2002: 166- 167). The basis of a successful interview is diligent planning before even the first question is asked, since no matter how participatory this process is, a research participant should not steer the interview into a completely unplanned or irrelevant direction (Greer, 2008: 150).
To avoid misdirection and derailment, a basic tool for researchers in asking questions while conducting qualitative semi-structured interviews is an interview guide or interview schedule (Edwards & Holland, 2013: 54). This guide is essentially a list of questions or topics that need to be covered during the interview. Sometimes a set order is followed and if that does not elicit the necessary information, adjustments are made or follow-up questions are asked (Edwards & Holland, 2013: 54). In developing the questions for the interview guide, researchers consider what the focus of inquiry is, what they want to learn from the participants, and which questions are likely to yield as much information as possible in order to address the aims and objectives of the research study (Gill et al., 2008: 292; Edwards & Holland, 2013: 54). An interview guide may be long and rather detailed or shorter depending 74 on the topic, but it does not need to be followed in a strict and overly structured manner (Daymon & Holloway, 2002: 171). The aim is to gain the spontaneous perspectives and opinions of participants, but at the same time, the interview schedule assists the researcher in maintaining some control over the interview so that the research topics are explored and the purpose of the study successfully achieved (Daymon & Holloway, 2002: 171). In other words, the researcher follows the interview schedule as a guide to ensure relevant topics are covered, but as part of the exchange of conversation during the interview, participants are able to pursue their own trajectories that may, on occasion, divert from the guide when the researcher feels the direction and information may be productive and appropriate (Edwards & Holland, 2013: 54). The additional importance of the interview schedule is that similar data is collected from all participants, which should result in minimal unusable or irrelevant data (Daymon & Holloway, 2002: 171).
In studying the Pango Camp community, the researcher used an interview schedule (see Appendix 1), but adapted it when needed. The interview schedule was structured around the themes derived from the literature study covered in Chapters 2 and 3.
When structuring and following an interview schedule, different types of questions may be set, but since open-ended questions are most sensitive to participants’ environments and situations, and generally neutral and understandable (Gill et al., 2008: 292; DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006: 316), this form of question was selected for this study. Interviews normally start with questions that participants can relate to and answer comfortably, as these assist in building the participant’s confidence and eases rapport between the participant and researcher (Gill et al., 2008: 292). A healthy rapport is beneficial to obtaining rich data and is therefore an essential component of the interviewing process (DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006: 316; Gill et al., 2008: 292). A good rapport essentially elicits trust and respect for the participant and the information shared (DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006: 316). Stages of rapport include apprehension, exploration, cooperation and participation (DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006: 316). In order to move successfully from apprehension to the next phases, the goal is to get the participant to talk in spite of what might be an unusual or strange context (DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006: 75 316). Quiet or reserved participants may need more time and gentle prompts to maintain a flow of conversation (Tollefson, Usher, Francis & Owens, 2001: 261). It is important that in prompting participants, for example through longer probing questions, they are not led into any specific direction, or pushed to respond in a certain manner, or misled in a way that results in a different answer than the one they would have provided without the “prompt” (Tollefson et al., 2001: 261; DiCicco- Bloom & Crabtree, 2006: 316; Edwards & Holland, 2013: 73). Emotionally neutral body language, nodding, showing sincere interest, making reassuring sounds and smiling when appropriate, are effective in encouraging participants to contemplate their answers, to converse openly and freely, to elaborate and to clarify what they mean (Gill et al., 2008: 292; Edwards & Holland, 2013: 73). Equally important is listening with analytic intent, and the strategic use of silences to allow participants to consider their answers (Tollefson et al., 2001: 263; Gill et al., 2008: 292; Edwards & Holland, 2013: 73).
Regarding the practical issues in preparing and conducting qualitative research interviews, consideration should be given to certain basics. When possible, participants should be interviewed in a setting that is convenient for them in terms of location and one that is free from distractions (Gill et al., 2008: 292). For most participants, the ideal place and time to conduct interviews is their homes in the evenings, and although this setting does not allow for the researcher to have control of the interview environment, the familiarity of the home setting may settle and relax the participant and alleviate stress factors possibly restricting rapport (Gill et al., 2008: 292).
In Pango Camp, as result of unemployment and a lack of funds restricting movement, most residents are at the informal settlement most of the time. This enabled the researcher to conduct interviews with participants as and when she encountered them while walking around the relatively small area. In other words, interviews did not have to be scheduled in advance. The researcher visited Pango Camp during the day and since interviews were conducted in the height of summer (December, 2016), several residents sat on chairs outside their homes and others were visible through their open doors – this made approaching participants easy. Following the suggestion of Edwards and Holland (2013: 3), interviews were 76 conducted in the “natural environment” – inside participants’ homes, directly outside their homes and sometimes on communal grass patches – where they felt most comfortable. The communal nature of Pango Camp meant that interviews were sometimes interrupted by other neighbours or interested passers-by, but this did not derail the interviews as the nature of the interview content did not render participants uncomfortable with a lack of privacy. Several interviews were conducted on a one- on-one basis, whereas others involved two or three participants who either live together or informally decided to partake in a conversation and interview that was being conducted with another participant. However, these interviews were not necessary group interviews (such as focus group sessions) as sometimes the second person left after a while to attend to something else.
Another component to consider when planning and conducting interviews is the way in which the content will be documented. Audio recording is useful not only during the interview, in allowing the researcher to focus purely on the participant, maintaining eye contact and not being distracted by making notes, but also after the interview where these recordings assist with transcribing (Edwards & Holland, 2013: 65). In order for the recording device not to be a distraction, for example if the researcher has to keep checking it is recording, that it is positioned close enough to the participant and that background noise is not compromising the quality of the recording, it is crucial to have a recording device that meets the requirements of the environment, that has suitable audio quality and sufficient battery life (Grossoehme, 2014: 119; Edwards & Holland, 2013: 65). In this study, the researcher used her mobile phone to record all interviews. The clarity of conversations was tested in various environments (different background noise and distances from interviewees) prior to each interview. Shortly after the interviews, all data was backed up onto a second server and the researcher always ensured that there was enough battery power for at least four one-hour interviews per day.
The qualitative, one-on-one, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducive to this study in several ways. Not only was accessibility and execution a seamless process, the information obtained was relevant, rich, comprehensive and enlightening.
77 4.3 Sampling
In any research, it is impossible and even superfluous to study an entire population, hence methods of sampling are implemented to establish on what basis participants are selected (Etikan, Musa & Alkassim, 2015: 1). Sampling determines the sample universe, also called the study population or target population (Robinson, 2014: 25). Quantitative research tends to use probability sampling where every unit in the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample, whereas qualitative studies mostly apply non-probability sampling – subjective methods to decide which elements and participants are included in the sample (Etikan, Musa & Alkassim, 2015: 1). Qualitative research uses this non-probability, purposive sampling as it does not aim to produce a statistically representative sample or draw statistical deductions (Wilmot, 2005: 3). In fact, a phenomenon only needs to appear once in this type of sample and study for it to be considered valuable and relevant (Wilmot, 2005: 3).
Qualitative researchers can make use of a variety of non-probability sample designs, one of which is convenience sampling which was selected for this study. Convenience sampling applies when members of the target population are selected based on certain practical criteria such as easy and convenient accessibility, geographical proximity, availability at a given period of time, and willingness to participate (Etikan, Musa & Alkassim, 2015: 2; Robinson, 2014: 32). This method is the least costly to the researcher in terms of time, money and effort, but it remains important for the researcher to justify this design in considering who could possibly be excluded from this sample and how this sample would differ from a random sample (Marshall, 1996: 523; Etikan, Musa & Alkassim, 2015: 2).
For this study, a convenient sample was used to ensure that the researcher engaged with participants who are willing and able to be interviewed. The researcher selected adults who were either sitting outside their homes/shacks or who were visible from the outside through open doors. However, to avoid potentially biased results obtained through convenient sampling, two methodological measures were used in this study.
78 Firstly, the researcher stratified the population based on certain characteristics (in the case of Pango Camp, they were age, gender, employment status and education levels) and participants were then selected to represent these different groupings (Yang & Banamah, 2013: 4; Robinson, 2014: 33-34). The importance of a substantial sample size (Wilmot, 2005: 4) was also considered in this regard, again not for reasons of representativeness or generalisation, but in order to ensure that the collected data brought deep and distinct insight into the news media consumption habits of Pango Camp residents.
In this study, a relatively large percentage of the population was studied. A total of 25 of the approximately 150 adults in Pango Camp participated in this study. This constitutes around 16.6% of the Pango Camp adult population. These adult participants represented different genders (10 female, 14 male and 1 transgender female), and fell into different age groups (3 participants were in the 18–21 age group; 3 in the 22–30 age group; 5 in the 31–40 age group; 4 in the 41–50 age group; 5 in the 51–60 age group; 4 in the 61–70 age group, and 1 in the 71–80 age group). The employment status of participants also varied – 15 of the participants were unemployed, 7 participants were employed on a part-time or ad hoc basis, 1 participant was employed on a permanent, full-time basis and 2 claimed to be self- employed. Participants’ reported education levels brought further differentiation. Table 1 below indicates who was interviewed, as well as their age, gender, employment status and self-reported education levels, and if the interview was conducted on a one-on-one or small group basis.
79 Name Age Gender Employment Interviewed Self- status with reported educational level Alfonso 45 Male Unemployed Matric Blondie (the 34 Female Unemployed Pat, Dot and Grade 10 nickname Estelle Gideon is called by and calls herself) Dane 24 Male Part-time, a few Nicky Grade 10 times a month Daniël 63 Male Part-time, Grade 9 Sundays David 62 Male Unemployed Evasive Denise 40 Female Unemployed Japie Grade 10 Dot 58 Female Unemployed Blondie, Pat Grade 10 and Gideon Elize 38 Female Part-time, every Rudolph Grade 7 day but only in the mornings Ewald 27 Male Unemployed Gareth Grade 11 Gareth 39 Male Self-employed Ewald Grade 10 Gideon 60 Male Full-time Blondie, Dot Grade 10 and Pat Hugo 54 Male Unemployed Grade 10 Irene (Irene 55 Female Unemployed Maria Evasive passed away on 4 August, 2017) Jannie 63 Male Unemployed Susanna Grade 9 Japie 71 Male Part-time, Denise Grade 9 Sundays Jeff 65 Male Part-time, Grade 10 Sundays Lorraine 43 Female Part-time, ad Grade 9 hoc a few times a month Maria 53 Female Unemployed Irene Grade 10 Mariska 21 Female Unemployed Grade 6 Nicky 20 Transgender Part-time, a few Dane Grade 11 female2 times a month Pat 35 Male Unemployed Blondie, Dot Grade 10 and Gideon Paul 41 Male Self-employed Matric Ricky 29 Female Unemployed Grade 8 Rudolph 18 Male Unemployed Elize Awaiting matric results Susanna 44 Female Unemployed Jannie Unclear
Table 1: Pango Camp participants
2 Nicky was born a male, but has since decided to live as a female. To respect Nicky’s wishes, the female pronoun is used in reference to her. 80 4.4 Data analysis
Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data elicited through the interviews. Thematic analysis is a method used to identify, analyse and report on patterns and themes within the data that have been collected (Braun & Clarke, 2006: 79; Du Plooy, 2009: 219-220; Liamputtong, 2013: 249). The researcher followed the steps recommended: (1) transcribe your own data and make sure you are closely familiar with everything contained in your initial data; (2) start generating initial codes by deconstructing data, putting them into codes and finding links between them; (3) through organising data and the connections these have with one another, look for themes; (4) revise the themes that were developed in the beginning and compare these with the codes extracted from the set of data; (5) lastly, define and name your themes with clear definitions (Braun & Clarke 2006: 87-89, 91 & 92; Liamputtong, 2013: 250). The researcher transcribed the interviews manually and personally. In order to formulate themes, using certain concepts, words and overall topics expressed and discussed by participants. During the data analysis, the researcher constantly referred to the initial themes and codes and the relevance of these. Themes were selected and their correspondence to the literature study of this research project was highlighted.
In general, when themes are induced, the researcher looks at the data collected and infers what the organising and underlying principles are (Terre Blanche & Durrheim, 2002: 141). Processes, functions, tensions, contradictions and the language that participants use are important elements in detecting themes and moving beyond simply summarising content (Terre Blanche & Durrheim, 2002: 141). There are no hard and fast rules, however, pertaining to selecting themes, what counts as a theme and how prevalent themes have to be – ideally the theme will occur numerous times across the data set, but sometimes the theme itself is what is crucial and not the quantity thereof (Braun & Clarke, 2006: 82; Wilmot, 2005: 55). The researcher therefore has to use his or her own judgement to determine what a theme is and how the themes relate to the overall research question (Braun & Clarke, 2006: 82).
The themes and codes derived from the interviews are discussed in detail in Chapter 5. How these are connected to the literature study is also clarified and stipulated.
81 4.5 Limitations
As with any research, there are limitations to the findings of this study. Firstly, in selecting a qualitative research approach, the leading disadvantage is that findings cannot be extended or generalised to wider populations (Atieno, 2009: 17; Daymon & Holloway, 2002: 7). The interest of qualitative researchers, however, is not to replicate findings but to understand the world and experiences from the point of view of those who live and function in it, and to appreciate what actions, events, objects and engagements mean to these participating individuals and/or communities (Daymon & Holloway, 2002: 12). Hence, it is not the purpose of this study to produce findings that can be replicated in order to understand news media consumption within several informal settlements across South Africa. What this research study aims to do is to obtain and interpret valuable, rich and comprehensive information that describes the news consumption practices and engagements of the residents of Pango Camp. In doing so, this study adds insight to a field that has enjoyed minimal critical and academic attention.
With regard to the method of data collection, in-depth personal interviews can present certain limitations and challenges. Besides the fact that conducting and transcribing interviews is time-consuming, it is crucial that the researcher has experience in conducting interviews since navigating the different responses from participants may be challenging for a novice researcher (Liamputtong, 2013: 71). In this respect, not only is the researcher familiar with this method as she has used it in previous research projects for earlier degrees, but this study was conducted under the supervision of a senior researcher with much experience in this method. Furthermore, within the intimate setting of an interview, social structures such as gender, ethnicity, language and age may have a heightened impact on the rapport between participants and researcher (Liamputtong, 2013: 71). This challenge was negligible within the context of the Pango Camp study since the researcher speaks the same language as the participants (Afrikaans), and they share the same ethnic background, which made entrance into this community a natural and seamless process.
82 In terms of sampling, convenience sampling may lend itself toward unnecessary bias, which may result in the research population not being representative of the community (Etikan, Musa & Alkassim, 2015: 2). For this reason, the researcher did not adhere to a strict convenience sampling method, but quota sampling techniques were also implemented in stratifying the study (Yang & Banamah, 2013: 4; Robinson, 2014: 33-34). This ensured that participants with different characteristics in terms of gender, age and employment status and educational background formed part of the sample.
In using thematic analysis to interpret and organise data, a common critique is that this method arranges material from the point of view of the researcher and their understanding of how topics and statements connect and relate (Joffe & Yardley, 2003: 66). In this process, the participants’ understanding of themes is often overlooked (Joffe & Yardley, 2003: 66). During the thematic analysis process of the Pango Camp study, the researcher ensured that the topics repeated by participants were included. Furthermore, the participants’ own understanding of their responses and behaviour was incorporated within the themes.
Adhering to abovementioned guidelines within qualitative research increases and strengthens the trustworthiness of the study. Firstly, the philosophical assumptions of the research need to be aligned with the research questions and research design (Morrow, 2005: 259). In this case, theoretical triangulation was applied in the sense that data from multiple theoretical and conceptual perspectives was incorporated (Du Plooy, 2009: 40). Furthermore, researchers need to demonstrate experience with the subject or the population of interest, and must be able to describe their approach to subjectivity as well as any potential expectations they may have (Morrow, 2005: 259). Participants must be chosen for information richness, and the study report should mention demographics, sample size and sampling strategies (Morrow, 2005: 259). In the Pango Camp study, the researcher rigorously applied these standards and recommendations. The literature review was done in support of the study and its contents, the researcher had previously done research within informal settlements, and a wide variety of participants was selected to add a range of perspectives and views to the study. The methods applied in selecting participants are clarified in this chapter. 83 With regard to validity, for qualitative research to be valid, it is imperative that the process should not be overemphasised at the cost of the outcome, nor should the product override the importance of following correct, reliable and ethical procedures (Whittemore, Chase & Mandle, 2001: 534). Attention to both the process and the product contribute to the validity and the overall quality of qualitative research (Whittemore, Chase & Mandle, 2001: 534). Hence, the findings need to be presented within a framework of valid criteria, having implemented specific techniques that would allow consumers to interpret and critique the findings in manners that are meaningful (Whittemore, Chase & Mandle, 2001: 533). In studying Pango Camp, the researcher did not have a preconceived outcome in mind, and all measures and steps were taken to ensure that reporting was done in an honest and reliable fashion.
Although there are limitations to the research approach and methods selected for this study, the nature of the study was conducive to the techniques that were applied. The study did not aim to generalise, the interviews were selected to gain as much information as possible and the sample method allowed for a wide reach in terms of participants. Furthermore, the thematic analysis method was successful and effective, as valuable data was organised in such a way that it presented a comprehensive picture. It can therefore be said that the selected approach and methods provided a deep understanding of the news consumption habits of the Pango Camp residents.
4.6 Ethical considerations
For a researcher to be ill-informed or naive about ethics is in itself unethical (Shaw, 2003: 11). However, according to Lincoln and Guba (1989: 225) there are also reasons for concern that ethical practice in research is frequently compromised. The values, views and interpretations of participants are often disregarded as mere opinions that lack scientific foundation and knowledge. In addition, the purpose and objectives of the research may be systematically withheld from subjects, as researchers often believe that should the participant be given detailed knowledge, their comprehension of the study and what it is about might compromise the findings.
84 Furthermore, protected personal information is frequently accessed unethically if the researcher believes this to help in the search for valuable information (Lincoln & Guba, 1989: 225).
For these reasons, the ethics of qualitative research design emphasise the principles of informed consent, confidentiality and privacy in working with individuals and communities (Shaw, 2003: 24). Informed consent stipulates that participants need to be given clear and specific information about the research project, that this should be done in a language they understand well, and based on this, they should make a decision, unaffected by pressure or influence, on whether they would like to partake in the research study (Davies & Hughes, 2014: 43). The ethics principles around confidentiality and privacy demand that should the study’s participants wish to remain anonymous, that request is granted (Davies & Hughes, 2014:44). This means that no information is shared outside the agreed upon limits, and names and key identifiable information are removed from the research documentation to ensure the participants’ identity is protected from the reader (Davies & Hughes, 2014: 44).
In addition to adhering to these general ethical research guidelines, this specific study also needs to factor in the unique circumstances of the Pango Camp participants. When researching marginalised groups such as the poor and/or uneducated, further measures need to be taken to allow for the protection of these individuals and communities considering the sensitive nature of their situation and conditions (Motley & Sturgill, 2014: 166-179; Barron, 1999: 38). As a researcher, empathy and awareness regarding economic diversity needs to be incorporated as part of the preparation for interviews within poor communities (Motley & Sturgill, 2014: 175). Researchers also needs to bear in mind that no matter how fastidiously they believe themselves to be adhering to ethical considerations, their primary interest is obtaining information, whereas for the participants, especially ones who are educationally or cognitively compromised, the situation may be unclear and may even feel unstructured (Barron, 1999: 38). In not interpreting the researcher’s visit correctly and clearly, a participant may even believe that the researcher is specifically interested in the personal situation of the participant, which may be mistakenly construed as a gesture of friendship (Barron, 1999: 38). Furthermore, the researcher needs to remain cognisant that even when participants understand the 85 purpose of the interaction between the researcher and participant, the motive to participate is usually not to contribute to someone’s dissertation or article; instead they may find the curiosity directed at them rather flattering and an interesting activity to engage in that provides a distraction from mundane every day routines (Barron, 1999: 38). Certain participants may perceive the closeness that develops as result of the sharing of information during an interview as the early stages of a friendship and they may wish to engage in future interaction with the researcher, although they may not articulate this (Barron, 1999: 41).
In studying the Pango Camp community, the researcher maintained sensitivity and awareness regarding the ethical challenges associated with studying vulnerable and marginalised communities and individuals. Only a few of the Pango Camp residents have completed secondary schooling; in fact, only two of the participants claimed to have matric and another participant was awaiting his matric results. Although the researcher cannot reliably comment on the participants’ cognitive abilities, several participants mentioned that they went to “special school”, and one could not read or write. Extra caution and attention was therefore given to explaining the context and the reasons for the interview.
The researcher did not experience a sense of expectation for future visits or donations of money or goods. The researcher believes that due to the frequent, if not daily, visits from sponsors, journalists, photographers, missionaries and other interested parties, the Pango Camp residents are accustomed to “outsiders” visiting and engaging with them. This allowed for an effortless entry into and exit from the community. The researcher does not dispute that her presence created excitement; on occasion, she was even approached by residents requesting to be interviewed as an alternative to just sitting around, but she does not believe this affected the information she was given in any way.
A positive ethical aspect of this study is that participation can be viewed as a dimension of the civil and human right of freedom of expression, which is especially important to those who can be considered vulnerable (Fisher, 2012: 2). Participation in such a study contributes to increasing visibility for the marginalised in the public sphere as it provides a platform which they can use to voice their views and opinions 86 – something they often do not experience with the same regularity and acknowledgement as the rest of the population (Fisher, 2012: 13).
4.7 Conclusion
This chapter discussed why the qualitative research approach was selected, how using in-depth, semi-structured interviews contributed to obtaining rich, diverse information, and the way in which a combination of convenience and quota sampling was a practical method of sampling. Furthermore, it briefly detailed thematic analysis as the technique that was implemented to decode and interpret data elicited from interviews. It also discussed the limitations to this study as well as its trustworthiness and validity. In conclusion, it addressed ethical practicalities, not only general rules to adhere to, but also specific considerations that need to be acknowledged and applied when dealing with vulnerable or marginalised communities and individuals. The next chapter explores the findings of this study.
87 Chapter 5: Findings
5.1 Introduction
When the research project was still in its infancy, the researcher visited Pango Camp to determine whether a study within this community would be practical and possible. Through newspaper and magazine articles, the researcher learned of community leaders Irene (55) and her husband Hugo (54). Upon arrival, the researcher approached the first person she saw standing outside, and within a few seconds of explaining the reason for her visit, the person shouted: “Auntie Irene, Auntie Irene, there’s someone here to talk to you!” This resulted in Irene appearing from the largest house (relative to the other homes) at the entrance of Pango Camp. This uninitiated deflection to Irene was a first-hand testament to the position of status and leadership Irene held in the community. Irene immediately agreed to the research project and indicated her willingness to assist.
A few months later, in December 2016, the researcher went back to Pango Camp to start conducting interviews. She was welcomed back by the couple, and Hugo (54) allocated a parking spot to her in front of their home for the duration of her research project. Neither Hugo (54) nor Irene (55) attempted to restrict the researcher from interviewing residents, nor did they advise her on who they thought should be interviewed.
The researcher visited Pango Camp almost daily for two weeks. As a result, she became a regular feature over this period, and residents, who often sat on chairs outside their houses, became accustomed to seeing her. An exchange of pleasantries occurred daily and, as word got around that interviews were being conducted, the researcher would even be approached by residents asking to be interviewed. A possible reason for this is that interviews were perhaps seen as a break from the monotony of their everyday lives. It is important to note that none of the participants ever asked for or expected anything from the researcher. In fact, the Pango Camp community is fairly used to “outsiders” visiting and studying them. When the researcher first arrived, there was a group of international missionaries camping out in front of Irene (55) and Hugo’s (54) home – the group of
88 approximately 20 people stayed for four days. There was also a Danish photographer visiting the community while the researcher was conducting her study, and donors were an almost daily feature – dropping off food and other supplies. In fact, “sponsors” and the function they fulfil were often mentioned during the interviews.
Once the researcher had finalised the interviews, these were transcribed and analysed as explained in the previous chapter. This chapter presents the findings of this study based on personal interviews conducted with residents of Pango Camp to explore their news media consumption.
The interview schedule that was used in this study was based on the topics covered in Chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 2 explores poverty, education and unemployment with emphasis on the interconnected nature of these three components. It also addresses media access, information poverty, voice poverty and the digital divide. It further unpacks the purposes of mass media, the underlying values of news, reasons for media consumption and how the poor often find media content difficult to relate to. Misrepresentation of the poor by the media is also investigated. Themes 1, 2 and 3 of the findings chapter correlate with the literature study of Chapter 2. Chapter 3 considers social media as a source of news, and it explores the impact of echo chambers, filter bubbles and fake news within the realm of social media. Furthermore, it delves into interpersonal communication as a news source, applying both the two-step flow of communication theory as well as the network theory. The role social capital plays within poverty-stricken, networked communities is considered, as is the impact of social capital on media consumption. Findings corresponding with these literature study topics are addressed under Theme 4 of the findings chapter. The findings presented in this chapter loosely follow the same structure as the literature review, but have been adapted to emphasise the themes that emerged from the interviews. Table 2 below indicates the structure of this chapter in relation to the topics covered in the literature study:
89 Themes elicited Topics in each theme Corresponding topics in through Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 interviews 1. Poverty, • Education levels of Pango • Poverty is multi-dimensional education and Camp participants • Poverty and formal education unemployment • Unemployment in Pango Camp • Poverty, unemployment and daily life routine 2. News and news • Participants’ definition of news • News and news values topics – outside news vs inside news • Reasons for news media • News topics (outside news) consumption: the uses and • Making sense of outside news gratifications theory consumption • The media, news, and the poor: relatability, representation, and media preferences 3. Access to news • Access to formal news sources • Access to information and sources and • Information poverty/ formal information poverty voice platforms news poverty • Voicing views publicly and • Voice poverty voice poverty • Different forms of access and the digital divide 4. Other news • Interpersonal communication – • Online news sources and a news source for inside and • Social media news media outside news • Social media and echo consumption • Social media, soft outside chambers news, and mobile phones. • Social media and filter bubbles • Social media and fake news • Individuals as news source – the two-step flow of communication • Social networks as news sources • Digital divide – mobile phones • Hard news and soft news
Table 2: Chapter outline in relation to literature review topics
5.2 Theme 1: Poverty, education and unemployment
This section focuses on aspects around education, poverty and unemployment of the Pango Camp community. This researcher managed to recruit 25 of the estimated 150 adult residents of Pango Camp to participate in the study. The participants of this study sketched a picture of low education levels and large-scale unemployment amongst residents.
90 5.2.1 Topic 1: Education levels of Pango Camp participants
The formal educational levels of the participants are relatively low, as community leader Hugo (54) explains:
Let me be honest with you, a lot of them [Pango Camp residents] had learning difficulties in school. They’re not going to come right, you can do what you want. So, that’s the problem; and I think that’s the biggest problem we have at the moment. People here aren’t educated. You’ll see, they all left school early. They won’t come right anywhere.
Out of the 25 adult participants in this study, only Alfonso (45) and Paul (41) indicated that they had successfully completed matric. Rudolph (18) had just written matric (the only young adult in Pango Camp to do so) and at the time of the interview, he was awaiting his results.
One dimension of poverty is that it includes an environment where schooling receives little attention (Narayan et al., 1999: 7), and according to Banerjee and Duflo (2007: 7 & 17), the poor often invest little money in formal education as the parents or seniors in poverty-stricken communities often have low levels of formal education themselves and are therefore unfamiliar and uncomfortable with formal education.
The Pango Camp community is an indicative example of this. As Irene (55), a mother of several children, explained: “Nowadays you need a matric to get a job. It makes no sense, because it’s your hands that do the work. How does a certificate help you to do a job? A certificate doesn’t do the work! It’s your hands and brain that do it.” Elize (38) was exposed to a similar sentiment by her own mother: “I went to [a] special school. I was there for two years, but when I was fourteen, my mom took me out of school. From then onwards, I stayed at home. I looked after children and cleaned the house.” Gareth (39) also attended a “special school” and left when he was in “Standard 8” [Grade 10], and similarly Ewald (27) reported: “I left school in standard nine [Grade 11]. My stepdad got TB [tuberculosis] and I had to start working.” Ricky (29), who left school in “Standard 6” [Grade 8], said: “My mom
91 moved to a place that was far away from schools. We didn’t have transport and there weren’t buses either, so I couldn’t go anymore.” Susanna (44), who cannot read or write, relayed a similar story:
I was sent to Hamlet. It’s a school for people who are disabled. Disabled people who can’t read or write. They put me there, and then I started learning how to read, but then my family started moving around and I couldn’t stay there anymore.
Mariska (21) similarly reported:
I would have liked to go to high school, but I found out I was pregnant when I was in Grade 7 … My mom was mad at me for about a day or two, but afterwards it was fine. Anyway, my husband [the father of both her children] doesn’t want me to work. He wants me to be with the kids. He says it’s his job to bring in money.
Nicky (20) suggested that once she found a job as a cashier in Honeydew, she saw no reason to continue with school and left before starting her matric year. She has subsequently found herself unemployed, but did not indicate an inclination to complete her high school education. Blondie (34) went “as far as Standard 8 [Grade 10], but then my dad opened a business and I had to run it. We had a security business and a pawnshop, all in one. I ran the security company.”
When the researcher asked Blondie (34), a mother of four, if she wanted her own children to complete high school, she pointed to her eldest daughter who was entering Grade 6 and said: “You see, she wants to be a diesel mechanic and for that she’ll probably have to go to the technical school … if she goes.” Blondie’s husband, Pat (35), then added: “The way I see it is that life is too short and unpredictable, you can’t want to plan everything.”
In other words, the participants identify the lack of completion of formal secondary school education as a contributing factor to their income poverty. Yet, they do not
92 prioritise it as instrumental to overcoming poverty or to improving the lives or future of themselves and their children.
5.2.2 Topic 2: Unemployment in Pango Camp
During the two-week interview period, the researcher noticed that most Pango Camp residents do not seem to adhere to fixed or standard working hours. Even though the researcher visited Pango Camp at different times during these days and on most days was there for the whole day, the majority of residents appeared to be in Pango Camp itself or in the immediate vicinity of the Camp. The question of unemployment was raised when the researcher interviewed Hugo (54):
Approximately 30 [out of 150 adults] of the people here work. They deliver the newspaper and some hand out pamphlets. They also get piece jobs to make some money, like scrap or bottles, just to bring some money home … The other day, a guy [from a company in the area] took twelve guys here, but he told me straight that he didn’t need all twelve, but he wanted to see who will work out and who won’t. So, he’s not going to keep everyone. If they don’t work well, then he shuts them out. There are still four laaities [young men] left there.
Irene (55) and Maria (53) believe that “many, many” people in Pango Camp are without jobs. They are of the opinion that residing in the greater Munsieville area puts them at a disadvantage. Irene (55) felt that “when people hear you’re from Munsieville, they say they don’t have work for you. They look at us like we’re low- class people …There are lots of white people that look down on us. They say that we drink and do drugs and that’s why we sit here”. Maria (53) added: “You’re ashamed, you’d rather lie on your CV and put a fake address on it. You don’t really want to say that you live here.”
Out of the 25 participants, nine reported working in some capacity or another. Gideon (60) and Elize (38) are the only two participants who work every day (with the exception of school holidays when Elize stays home as her employment concerns the school terms). Elize (38) works for a sponsor making porridge and
93 lunch for the school-going children every morning, and Gideon (60) works as a cashier at a pawnshop. Temporary, part-time, casual work and self-employment are more common. Japie (71), Jeff (65) and Daniël (63) sell the newspaper Rapport at designated traffic lights every Sunday, and Nicky (20) hands out pamphlets for four hours a day once or twice a month. Lorraine (43) does crochet and beadwork which she sells independently and also assists a man who “exports products to Botswana” in “sorting and packing everything” a few days a month. Ewald (27) buys and sells meat and occasionally does paintwork, and Gareth (38) has an abseiling business which he runs from his corrugated iron home – he charges “R100 a head.” Paul (41) buys products on websites such as Bid or Buy and Vat Weg Gratis En Verniet [Remove for Free] and then fixes and sells these items. He also repairs and “unlocks mobile phones”.
Van Hoye and Lootens (2013: 87) suggest that the unemployed suffer the loss of structure, social contacts, participation in a collective purpose and regular activity. Although this study does not primarily focus on the effects of unemployment, Pango Camp participants rarely reported engaging in job-seeking activities in order to re- establish structure or relationship networks. In contrast with what is found in other research on unemployment (Delaney, Egan & O’Connell, 2011: 25), this study’s participants did not indicate that looking for work is part of their daily routine. Instead, participants were consistently observed merely sitting around – this corresponds with observations made in the study on unemployment by Moller (1991: 8). There are some attempts at job seeking, however, but participants could not indicate how successful this approach has been: Blondie (34) follows employment-related groups on Facebook, but did not indicate direct engagement beyond online browsing. Alfonso (45) posted his “CV on Indeed.com, but I don’t waste my time with employment agencies, and I always use my brother’s address in Springs on my CV. I will never say I’m from Munsieville.”
Donors (“sponsors”) assist on a regular basis with food and other essential supplies, but Pango Camp residents “still need money for little things here and there,” said Hugo (54). This results in Pango Camp residents engaging in unorthodox ways to generate income, some even bordering on the line between legitimate and
94 illegitimate, similar to the findings by Moller (1991: 12). Blondie (34) “works the robots” and Mariska (21) divulged other means applied by residents:
There’s a guy up the road who goes through the trash looking for cans, or people look for stuff to take to the scrapyard. Most people stay inside [Pango Camp], but they go outside every now and then to make a plan for money. The other guy put a dress and a bra on the other weekend and he made a sign saying he was getting married and then he and another guy went to go stand at the robot. They only came back late that night.
The pattern mostly followed by Pango Camp residents appears to be one of instant gratification where short-term solutions are sought to alleviate immediate monetary pressures. Little time is devoted to working or job-seeking activities. This could be because the need or desperation of the community is to some extent alleviated by donations.
In other words, the findings of this study about the news media consumption of residents of Pango Camp should be read against the fact that although the camp residents are considered poor, they do not have that much of a shortage of basic necessities due to receiving regular, and often daily, donations – mostly food, but also, at times, clothes, consumables such as toilet paper and soap, and even furniture3. As result, a greater portion of their expendable income can be used for something else, as the little income they do have (mostly from social grants and odd jobs) can in part be used to gain access to news media. Again, it is important to note that people living in urban informal settlements around the globe are not universally the same, and the context of each community is probably unique. Therefore, research undertaken on one community cannot haphazardly be generalised or applied to other impoverished communities living in urban informal settlements. This is supported by Krishna (2009: 948), who emphasises that one cannot view “the poor” as a universally similar group.
3 While the researcher was doing the interviews, a second-hand lounge suite was delivered by a donor, which Irene allocated to a resident. 95 5.3 Theme 2: News and news topics
This section explores how participants in this study define news. It includes news topics they are partial to, and how they reflect on their interpretations of what constitutes news.
5.3.1 Topic 1: Participants’ definition of news – outside news versus inside news
News values are the underlying characteristics that deem something newsworthy – according to media organisations. Traditional news values include frequency, threshold, relevance, unambiguity, consonance, proximity, continuity, composition, surprise, celebrity, elite nations, powerful elite, bad news, currency, good news and entertainment (Harcup & O'Neill, 2001: 279; Galtung & Ruge, 1965: 66-67; Conley, 2002: 42).
According to the participants in this study, the news value that deals with geographical proximity emphasised by Conley (2002: 42), appears to be the most important and determining news value for Pango Camp residents. Respondents conveyed a unique differentiation between news from within Pango Camp and news from the “outside” – with “inside” news receiving far greater popularity and interest. There seems to be a clear sense of “us” versus “the outside world”. This is reflected in the previous section when participants of this study indicated that when looking for employment, they try not to mention that they live in Pango Camp as they believe this will decrease their chances of finding employment. This point of view extends to their definition of news. In fact, this is one of the strongest themes emerging from the interviews regarding participants’ definitions of news.
Outside news constitutes anything from news regarding events and occurrences in and around the nearby Krugersdorp area, to political, economic and sensational news transpiring in the rest of the city, the country and the world. The researcher found that often when she enquired about participants’ news habits, they would relay events that happened inside Pango Camp, and respondents would only discuss news broadcast and presented through the media when it was specified that the researcher wanted to know about outside news. 96
In this vein, Alfonso (45) told the researcher that his wife, who lives with him in Pango Camp, is not someone who is particularly interested in news and that he is always the one to filter news through to her. The researcher then probed into what he had deemed newsworthy over the previous two weeks that he relayed to his wife:
Ag4, only the sponsors that came here and the Christmas party they held for the children. It was very interesting.
What makes this specific instance remarkable is that Alfonso (45), out of almost all the other participants, actually had the most knowledge of political events occurring in the country at the time. Yet, his first assumption about news was internal to Pango Camp. Only on further questioning did he discuss news as presented by the media – that is, outside news.
A similar assumption is evident when Paul (41) answered, in response to a question on whether he was interested in news about crime: “Here [in Pango Camp], there’s no crime. Jis, but where we came from”. David (62), who cited other people as his only source of news, shared that the news he receives is “always about things around here, about other people here and so and so”.
Interestingly, participants showed a distinct understanding of the conscious choice made by many Pango Camp residents to focus predominantly on news from inside Pango Camp. The terms “inside” and “outside’ were used deliberately and continuously in interviews. Blondie (Estelle’s nickname that she used to introduce herself to the researcher) eagerly shared her knowledge about current events with the researcher and announced that she has always been “very curious to know about what happens on the outside”. She further elaborated by asserting that her interest in news from the outside was especially for the sake of her young children (who also live in Pango Camp). This was in contrast with a comment made by Mariska (21), who told the researcher that to the Pango Camp residents, news is “never about what happens on the outside”. Blondie (34), in spite of her own interest
4 Interviews were conducted in Afrikaans – the home language of the respondents. The researcher is fluent in Afrikaans. 97 in outside news, appeared aware of Pango Camp residents’ preference for inside news. She informed the researcher that she was the exception to this pattern:
To the people of Pango Camp, news is only what happens on the inside. They don’t want to know about the news or the reality of the outside. Only about the inside. They like the action that happens on the inside.
Lorraine (43) confirmed this by jokingly telling the researcher that, “with all the fights happening inside, you don’t even have to switch on a television. Here, you watch The Bold and the Beautiful 5 seven days a week [laughs]”. Paul (41) explained that the news that travels within Pango Camp is “not about the outside”; instead it is about what happens inside Pango Camp. “Every now and then, there’s lekker [great] action here. Lekker action. Then I just sit and watch.”
Possibly the most profound testament to the community’s preoccupation with inside news came from Alfonso (45). Even though he also, almost instinctively, reverted to Pango Camp-related information when queried about the news, he showed meaningful insight into the community’s frame of reference:
I don’t think they [fellow Pango Camp residents] see it … I don’t think they understand how things fit together. They don’t see the bigger picture. Many of them have been here for so many years ... This is their world here. And that’s all that matters. I don’t even think they know who Pravin Gordhan6 is.
Community leader, Hugo (54), also indicated a powerful understanding of the dynamics that play a role in the news media consumption habits of the Pango Camp community:
Look at me for example – I have to keep an eye on the outside and the inside. So, I have to know what is going on both inside and outside. The problem is they live very basic here. They only think about what is happening on the
5 The Bold and the Beautiful is a longstanding American soap opera. 6 At the time of the interviews, Pravin Gordhan was South Africa’s Minister of Finance and a constant feature in news broadcasts and publications. 98 inside. They don’t worry about what’s going on on the outside. They’re only interested in the inside and what they do in here.
Participants clearly differentiate between news from within Pango Camp and news that occurs outside of their immediate environment – with their preference strongly leaning towards internal, local news. The differentiation between inside news and outside news is not a standard news value in journalistic practice or theory. This differentiation is thus an important finding of this study: a close-knit poverty-stricken community, such as found in the urban informal settlement of Pango Camp, may define news differently to that of so-called standard news values. Even though regular news values consider the proximity of the newsworthy event from the recipients of news (Conley, 2002: 42), as well as the meaningfulness of the event for the news audience/consumer (Galtung & Ruge, 1965: 67), the almost immediate proximity (not even a kilometre) and meaningfulness of inside news for the Pango Camp audience is significant.
Furthermore, participants’ distinction between inside and outside news suggests that they consider themselves to be separate or even isolated from the rest of the city or the country, yet when they were asked if they feel included in the broader society they almost unanimously responded that they do, in fact, feel part of the rest of the country. This distinction between inside and outside news would therefore better relate to their immobility and an underlying sense of “stuckness”, hence an inward focus. The rest of this section investigates participants’ views on the news genres of outside news, and how they make sense of their views regarding outside news.
5.3.2 Topic 2: News topics (outside news)
Even though participants predominantly expressed an interest in inside news, this does not mean that they do not engage with any form of news media delivering outside news. When prompted, participants did respond to the subject of outside news and indicated which mass media news and internet news stories they prefer.
99 5.3.2.1 Politics and the economy
The overriding sentiment of the 25 participants of this study is an avoidance of political or economic news. Two participants (Alfonso, 45 and Paul, 41), however, expressed an interest in news of this nature.
Alfonso (45) indicated a sincere interest in, and considerable knowledge of, political news that had an impact on the economy. His reason for media engagement relates to the motive of surveillance or information seeking (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326) since his news media consumption practices are concentrated around obtaining information about the political and economic state of the country and world:
Because that affects us all, you know. If Gordhan goes then the economy will be a … we will be downgraded and all those things. Pravin is our only ray of light in the entire government. Look at the whole Nene7 saga last year. We lost what? R2 billion in one weekend?
Since Alfonso (45) was the only one to display any real knowledge of the South African political and economic climate, the researcher enquired into his personal background. No other participant except Alfonso (45) appeared to see living in Pango Camp as a short-term solution. His view was: “This is only a temporary story. One can’t live like this permanently.” At the time of the interview he had been living in Pango Camp for nine months and had previously resided in an apartment in Standerton with his wife and young daughter. He was a branch manager at a security company for three years before allegedly resigning and falling on tough times. A habit of living on the outside and then periodically returning to the inside appears to be a pattern with Alfonso (45) as he had also in the past gone from living on the outside to living in Coronation Park for a year:
For almost a year at the dam, yes, a year or so. Only until you’re back on your feet again. Then you go on …
7 The respondent referred to the controversial dismissal of Nhlanhla Nene, the Minister of Finance that was succeeded first by Des van Rooyen and then, after urgent interference from senior ANC leaders and the business sector, replaced by Pravin Gordhan four days later. This highly controversial and unexpected dismissal of respected minister Nene resulted in several investors withdrawing from South Africa. 100 The researcher deduced that as result of Alfonso’s, albeit intermittent, connection to and involvement in “the outside”, he engaged with news that affected not only Pango Camp directly, but also the rest of the country. Outside news would naturally be of value to him since he is intent on re-immersing himself in that world again and would need relevant information in order to do so effectively.
One other participant, Paul (41) who also expressed an interest in the economy and specifically the exchange rate did so for an entirely different reason. This could tie in to the need for surveillance and information (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326) as he monitors events taking place in the country and the world to analyse and understand the effect it could have on him. Paul (41) said that a friend of his, who also lives in Pango Camp, had won two lotteries, one in Australia and one in The Netherlands, and that a portion of these winnings will be allocated to him as a token of friendship and appreciation. When asked if he was interested in news about the economy he said:
Yes, definitely, because … uhm … I have a few rands coming in next year, so I have to stay on top of what’s going on. The other oompie that I visit at the top there, he’s won the lottery overseas and he’s getting a lot of money. I’m talking a lot of money that he’s going to get and he is going to give me a pretty piece of it. He went to the bank today to organise everything and to get the money here and that. But it’s only happening next year anyway. He won two lotteries. The one in Australia is 18 million dollars, but Australian dollars. And the other one he won is in The Netherlands.
The only real interest expressed in politics and the economy was by the two participants mentioned above. The reason for their engagements was to obtain information and to monitor the external environment, although the drive for this was somewhat different. In terms of news values, one could argue that in both these cases the content is meaningful and relevant (Galtung & Ruge, 1965: 67; Harcup & O'Neill, 2001: 279) to Alfonso (45) and Paul (41) for their own personal reasons and therefore they find it newsworthy.
101 5.3.2.2 Sport
Sport news was mentioned by three participants, Jeff (65), Blondie (34) and Japie (71), who said that they watch or read about sports. Japie (71) mentioned that he enjoys wrestling and watching WWE, whereas Blondie (34), because of her own earlier boxing career, rarely but sometimes follows prominent boxing matches. Although their knowledge of sporting events appeared limited, one could deduce that this media engagement is for the purpose (uses and gratifications) of entertainment or diversion (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326).
5.3.2.3 Weather
Weather-related news was mentioned by one participant. Jannie (63) grew up and lived on a farm for 35 years, and he said that he enjoyed following weather reports. As he still planted and grew small crops around his wooden house in Pango Camp, he found the unusual weather patterns of the past year confusing: “The weather is upside down lately and that worries me. Look at the mielies [maize] there [he pointed to a few rows of planted maize], they are this big and shootings seeds. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Jannie’s interest in the weather could be seen as an act of surveillance (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326) since his engagements with these types of reports are focused around the practicalities of small-scale farming. However, since this project is mostly a hobby for Jannie (63), and the media fulfils a function of entertainment (Pavel, 2010: 106-112), this news media engagement could be purely for pleasure and as something to do. The gratification he obtains from this would therefore be considered diversion (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326).
5.3.2.4 Crime and human-interest pieces
The two news genres that were indicated as the most interesting to participants are crime and human-interest stories. These topics would generally be considered soft news (Lehman-Wilzig & Seletzky, 2010: 37-38; Patterson, 2000: 3) as it is primarily about topics that are sensational with a human focus.
102 Alfonso (45) explained: “Crime and those things, now that is important,” and Jannie (63) commented that he is “a guy that’s interested in finding out about this guy stealing or that guy beating someone to death and stuff like that.” Blondie (34) explained that she is interested in stories about crime, because “then I can at least keep my children safe and do something about it.”
As part of the interest in crime-related stories, farm murders receive attention from the Pango Camp community. Denise (40), originally from Zimbabwe, indicated that she follows what she referred to as “the killing stories”. When the researcher asked for more detail on this, she clarified: “… about the farmers. I watch and read a lot about that.” Blondie (34) indicated a personal connection to farm crime news:
We used to live on a farm, but when I was very small. You know, I so badly wanted to move to a farm so that my children could have horses and stuff, but not with all these murders, I can’t allow it. Not with my children.
Jannie (63) also spoke about the farm murders, but offered another reason for being concerned, namely food security:
These farm murders are something awful. These are the people that are putting food in the stores. That’s something you don’t forget easily. It sticks with you. This is something they [the government] must sort out, because if all the farmers are gone, where will South Africa be then? This is an important point. They definitely need to address this.
The reasons for the interest in crime varied. Since Blondie (34) used to live on a farm and Denise (40) is originally from a country where violent farm occupations have taken place frequently, the news value of cultural meaningfulness (Galtung & Ruge, 1965: 67; Harcup & O'Neill, 2001: 279) is applicable to the news preferences of these two participants. Furthermore, the content of crime stories and coverage of farm murders is unambiguous and clear: it is bad news and it makes reference to people (Harcup & O'Neill, 2001: 279; Galtung & Ruge, 1965: 66-67). These values appear crucial to what this study’s participants consider news.
103 The interest in crime and particularly farm murders could relate to the uses and gratifications motives of surveillance, personal identity and diversion (McQuail, Blumler & Brown, 1972: 135-165; O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326; Lewis, 2008: 37). Firstly, garnering information about these events is an act of surveillance – monitoring the environment for details and reports on these events. Then, since participants could identify with the content, because of their own backgrounds and similarly perceived struggles and challenges, the need for personal identity is addressed, and, reading articles and engaging with news stories provides a diversion and distraction to them – something to do within the mundane context of everyday life without employment and under considerable financial restrictions.
Furthermore, topics that enjoy engagement from Pango Camp participants are those of a localised and personal nature (human-interest). These types of articles, broadcasts and stories contain news values of unambiguity (the content is easy to understand) and reference to people (Galtung & Ruge, 1965: 66-67; Harcup & O'Neill, 2001: 279). The stories furthermore often have a negative slant to them (bad news), about a sad or tragic event (Galtung & Ruge, 1965: 68; Harcup & O'Neill (2001: 279). Cultural, emotional and geographical proximity (Conley, 2002: 42) as a news value also comes through in these media engagements. To illustrate, Mariska (21) said that she reads articles in the newspaper that are about:
The murders and so on here in Krugersdorp, because lately there’s a lot of crime in the Krugersdorp area. Like, last week a boy was pushed off the train – dead. A 13-year old boy.
Elize (38) reads the Krugersdorp News and she enjoys magazine articles about “people in Pretoria and children that are sick and looking for help. You find that a lot in Huisgenoot. I like reading little stories like that.” Lorraine (43) enjoys learning about experiences other people have that are similar to her own.
If it’s something that also happened to me, I want to know about it. Like stories about divorces, because I’ve also been through it.
104 Jeff (65) said he was moved by a newspaper article about a farmer that resonated with him, because of his own financial struggles.
I read the whole story. There, west of Brakpan. The farmer who had the farm, he gave it to his workers and they made money of it, but for their own pockets and not for the chicken farm. Then it all started going backwards. He lost everything.
In other words, numerous human-interest stories caught the attention of this study’s participants and these correspond with several conventional news values. Blondie (34) relayed a story she heard about on Facebook:
There was a little boy of five-years old who was very ill. And there’s this guy, he is Father Christmas and from the beginning of the year, he grows a beard. So, from January to December he grows his own beard and he acts as Father Christmas in many roles and stuff. So, then these people called him and asked him to visit the sick little boy in hospital. He did that and just as the boy wanted to tell him his wish, the boy died in his arms.
Dot (58) eagerly wanted to talk about a court case she followed:
It was one hell of a thing in the newspaper. That case carried on for three years. Me and Angela, my daughter, we followed that case from the beginning to the end. The whole lot. The one guy that we knew, the Muslim guy, he had to appear in court. He bought the Polo, he thought it was just a car he was buying, but it turned out that the car was stolen. That case I followed from the beginning. Also, that woman who paid those guys to kill the baby … that case we also followed.
Noticeably absent from reports and accounts of stories with personal and human elements to them, is reference to the powerful, the elite and celebrities. Participants did not mention prominent people by name, nor did they appear familiar with so- called celebrities, especially international ones. In this vein, participants were not
105 aware of the Kardashians8. Mariska (21) said: “I don’t know who they are,” and Elize (38) explained that she “didn’t know people from overseas.” Ricky (29) also intimated that she had never heard of them
In terms of motivation, specifically focusing on the uses and gratifications theory as pointed to in the literature, participants interact with this content for a sense of diversion (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326) – a source of entertainment and something to do specifically as a solution to boredom. As Hugo (54) put it: “Look, I read stories in magazines and newspapers. When I’m bored, I quickly look at what’s going on in the paper.” Elize (38) also suggested, “It’s a bit of excitement to see what’s going on in other people’s lives and stuff. Otherwise, your own life is boring. Just the same, over and over.”
It also seems that a kinship is found with others who had experienced sadness, loss, suffering and tragedy, and for this reason participants’ media engagement also meets their need for personal identity (O’Sullivan et al., 2006: 326). As with coverage on crime and farm murders, further research will need to be done to establish if the motive of personal relationship is applicable here since the researcher could not find evidence that farm murders serve as conversation points between residents. Furthermore, residents are not personally familiar with any of the farmers affected by crime.
5.3.2.5 Self-help
Although not necessarily news, two participants indicated that they are interested in self-help topics covered in magazines. Mariska (21) is fond of the television program Fine Living as she has an interest in interior design – which is displayed in the way she decorates her modest corrugated iron home. Lorraine (43) occasionally buys Vrouekeur magazine: “The reason I pick this is because I love my sewing and stuff and they put patterns in this magazine. And I cook and stuff, so when there’s something nice in it, I’ll buy the Vrouekeur.”
8 At the time of the interviews, a popular reality show featuring the Kardashian family received an inordinate amount of attention and publicity. The members of this famous family were a frequent feature in the media. 106 In summary, limited interest was expressed in “conventional” hard news such as politics, the economy and activities of the powerful and the elite. Although two participants mentioned engagements with news relating to politics and economics, their motives stem from the prospect of a life outside Pango Camp or a brighter future. Paradoxically, an interest in the weather is linked to the past, and life on a farm, whereas the interest in sport is for entertainment purposes. Crime and general human-interest stories receive the most attention, as participants find the content captivating, entertaining and interesting. However, the most surprising finding about news consumption within the urban informal settlement Pango Camp is the clear and deliberate distinction drawn by participants between inside and outside news.
5.3.3 Topic 3: Making sense of news media consumption
As discussed in the previous section, the participants distinguish between inside news and outside news with an inclination towards inside news. This preference was linked in the previous section to poverty and their inward orientation. In contrast, this section focuses on the reasons for their consumption of outside news.
5.3.3.1 Outside news exposure: boredom and habit
The researcher noticed that upon specific questioning, quite a few participants declared that they are news media consumers and that they are interested in news about the outside. Yet, their knowledge about news appeared limited. To illustrate, Irene (55) mentioned: “I read stories about what is happening in the world. I think there’s a lot of murder, robberies and theft. All those types of things. So, I think the newspapers are overflowing with stories about that more than anything else.” She further indicated that she is interested in local (South African) and international news with a preference for “overseas news”:
I like more news from overseas, and you know why? Everything you read about overseas, what happens there will happen here. When you read that there was a fight overseas and they threw bottles at each other and stuff, and set things alight, then it’s here a week or two later. It’s like a contagious disease.
107 This declared interest in international events seems to contradict Irene’s (55) lack of knowledge of any news being featured at the time of the interview. The researcher found nothing in Irene’s (55) accounts of current events that substantiated her claims of news consumption. Although this research study is not a test or assessment on participants’ knowledge of what was happening in the country or the world at the time, the researcher could not miss or overlook that certain participants, in spite of reporting news media engagement, carried no real knowledge of events portrayed by the media. This is illustrated through the following example: when Irene (55) and her sister, Maria (53) indicated that they regularly follow international news, the researcher enquired about their views and perceptions of the US elections9. None of these two participants were aware of the elections, nor did they know who Donald Trump10 is. Maria (53) responded: “I don’t know about this thing [the elections]” and Irene (55) responded in the same manner.
This pattern is not unique to international news, because when the researcher asked Irene (55) if she followed local political news, she answered that she did11, yet she was unable to engage in a conversation about current political events. When the researcher asked who Irene (55) and Maria (53) would like to see as the country’s next leader, Irene responded: “Leader? To be president? … Just not P. W. Botha12 again. He just gave the country away. He’s sitting overseas while we’re in the battlefield.”
Maria (53) explained: “I’ll take Pik Botha13. He should have been [president] those years.” This again illustrates that although these participants reported an interest in political news, this could not be supported by actual knowledge.
9 The US elections concluded on 8 November, 2016 – a month before the interviews were conducted. Due to the controversial and unexpected outcome, it received ongoing and persistent news coverage especially on international news channels which Irene (55) and Maria (53) claim to watch. 10 Donald Trump, a businessman and reality television personality, with no previous experience in public service, beat Hillary Clinton, a poll-favourite, previous First Lady and United States Secretary of State, in a highly contested and surprising election outcome. 11 This respondent is not mentioned as a participant who is interested in politics or economics (discussed earlier in this chapter). Her true interest could not be ascertained and she is therefore excluded from that segment. 12 P.W. Botha resigned as South Africa’s state president in 1989 and retired entirely from the political scene. He passed away in 2006. To refer to him in this context indicates a lack of understanding and knowledge of South Africa’s politics and a “stuckness” in historic political times. 13 Roelof Frederik Botha or “Pik” Botha ended his time in office and withdrew from politics in 1996. He almost entirely disappeared from the public eye and hardly surfaces in the news media. Mentioning him as a presidential candidate indicates a removed understanding of South Africa’s current political environment as well as a “stuckness” in historic political times. 108 Nicky (20) also confidently declared that she engaged with news from the outside: “Everything from everywhere. It’s all interesting to me.” She suggested that she followed “politics14 in our news, and overseas news, what happens every day. I get up and drink my coffee and when I go onto Facebook I see the news and then I start reading it.” When probed, however, she could not identify any specific news story; instead she reverted to generic references such as “like the thing with Malema15” and “the bombs that go off overseas” and “the woman who cried about her RDP16 house.” None of these events could be verified or confirmed, and the media sources from which these reports came from were vague. The researcher could find no evidence of these reported stories on any of the sources Nicky (20) cited as her preferred sites or channels. Nicky (20) was also unaware of the US elections. Similarly, Dane (24) stated that he watched the news “every day” and that he is interested in “politics, crime and the economy17 all over the world, basically,” but he did not appear aware of any actual reports or stories broadcast at the time through the local media. When asked which stories or events in particular he was following, he could not provide any detail apart from “just everything.”
It could be that participants in this study did not want to engage with news content questions posed by the researcher, but the researcher does not believe that this is the case, as they were forthcoming and eager to be interviewed throughout the project. Another reason for their lack of knowledge could be that these participants did not understand news content, or were embarrassed to admit that they did not follow news media. Further studies will have to be conducted to explore these options.
Based on the literature review, it is likely that participants often engage with news for different reasons than what they think – they may believe that they expose themselves to news to obtain information, whereas the real reason for this engagement is to fill time and to keep occupied in an otherwise monotonous and
14 This respondent is not mentioned as a participant who is interested in politics or economics (discussed earlier in this chapter). Her true interest could not be ascertained and she is therefore excluded from that segment. 15 Julius Malema is the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters political party. He is a constant feature in South Africa’s media and a fierce and open critic of President Jacob Zuma. 16 RDP is the abbreviation for the Reconstruction and Development Programme which is aimed at providing housing to South African citizens older than 21 earning an income of R3,500 or less per month. 17 This respondent is not mentioned as a participant who is interested in politics or economics (discussed earlier in this chapter). His true interest could not be ascertained and he is therefore excluded from that segment. 109 unstructured life and environment. Hwang (2005: 4-5) argues that gratifications sought are not always the same as gratifications obtained, and that individuals often derive a different gratification from media engagement than the one they think they are receiving. This supports the suggestion that in order to cope with unemployment and poverty, individuals often create self-imposed routines, such as watching news at specific times, as a form of structure (Van Hoye & Lootens, 2013: 87; Delaney, Egan & O’Connell, 2011: 25), and furthermore, they often engage in perpetual leisure activities such as reading newspapers in order to create an activity (Knabe et al., 2009: 870).
Ewald (27) showed some understanding of this point of view: “I only listen to the news because it’s there, not because I like it.” Jannie (63) also summarised his news consumption habits similarly:
I’m not really interested in what they show us on TV. It doesn’t bother me at all. I just listen and afterwards I forget about it. My interest is in knowing what happens. Who did what? Afterwards, I forget it and I’m not interested in it any more than that. But when it’s six o’ clock [time for the news], I listen. Especially on the radio and then later I watch it on TV. Then I forget about it. By tomorrow, I’ve forgotten all about it.
In other words, Jannie and Ewald’s accounts confirm the view that news media exposure could be habitual and not really to gain information (Hwang, 2005: 4-5).
The rest of this section explores two more recurring themes present in the interviews, namely relatability to media content and misrepresentation of aspects related to Pango Camp participants. These two factors further explain participants’ news preferences.
5.3.3.2 Lack of relatability with outside news
Several participants have a particularly avoidant attitude towards political news due to a sheer disinterest in and a dislike of politics. This stems from various sources – of which the strongest views are that politics does not impact their daily lives, nor the
110 betterment of their situation. In the literature, this is in line with news media avoidance as a lack of relatability as the poor often report that they cannot relate to people in the news as they have no way of affecting such people’s views or actions (McKendrick et al., 2008: 31; Tacchi & Kiran, 2008: 32).
To illustrate, Japie (71) believes that politics and reading about it are pointless:
I’m not interested in politics. It’s all just a gimmick. They talk so much nonsense. Why would we want that in the newspaper? It’s ridiculous! Who wants to know about stuff like that?
Daniël (60) explicitly indicated that he “couldn’t care less” about politics and has “no interest in it whatsoever”. David (62) shares his lack of curiosity: “I’m not one for politics. I’m on my own mission.” Mariska (21) acknowledged that she would never seek out political information, but that she “may watch when it comes on the news.” Paul (41) echoed Japie’s disdain by proclaiming that “our politics is a fuck-up18. I’m not interested. They’re all corrupt, so what the hell?” Ewald (27) displayed a more aggressively negative attitude towards news about politics and why he is unable to relate to it:
Politics is actually a crèche. It’s like watching a circus. They make us [the country] look like buffoons. The whole world now knows how stupid our superiors are. Now we all look like idiots. To read about it just upsets me, because I know there are people in the country who are more intelligent … people who can read English and who can do things that a president is supposed to do. Politics disgust me and I want nothing to do with it.
Aside from a basic disinterest as result of an inability to relate to content, another reason noted for the avoidance of news about politics is a self-acknowledged lack of understanding – which would naturally impact relatability. Ricky (29) does not engage with news media regarding politics as she finds the content hard to grasp.
18 Interviews were translated directly. The researcher appreciates that this language may be considered offensive by some readers, but the text was kept authentic to indicate participants’ strong emotions about the topics at hand. 111 When the researcher asked her if she is interested in politics, she replied by saying that she does not know what politics is. When the researcher advanced the question by asking if Ricky (29) knows about circumstances surrounding the country’s president19, she was vague: “Oh, I hear people talk about that and they say things aren’t right”. Elize (38) also felt that political content is too complicated:
I’m not a politics kind of person. I don’t like to … politics and those things just confuse me. I don’t understand it, and when I don’t understand something, I want nothing to do with it. Look, if someone is going to talk about something and I don’t understand what they’re talking about, then I won’t be able to take part in the conversation. So, politics ... no! It’s just not interesting to me.
News about economics often received similar responses, with Elize (38), Lorraine (43), Jeff (65), Daniël (60) and Mariska (21) saying they are by no means inclined to consume news about the local or international economy simply because they have not the slightest interest in it. Two participants indicated that their sense of being outsiders to the economy explains their disinterest. Denise (40) said: “I don’t have money, why would I care?” and Japie (71) added that he feels the same because he does not “have one cent to put in the bank”.
This intentional avoidance of outside news links to the preference for inside news as discussed in the previous section, but a deeper, more profound reason for disengaging from outside news came to light in some interviews. Alfonso (45) suggested that the Pango Camp residents are “stuck in a rut because for 90% of them every day is a struggle to survive, so what does it [political or economic news] matter”.
Blondie (34) ascribed the commonly expressed avoidance of outside news to an internal psychological struggle that Pango Camp residents face that hinders their ability to relate to the outside world:
19 At the time of the interview, Jacob Zuma was the president of South Africa. He was a constant, almost daily feature within the South African news context. 112 When you’re on the inside, you lose your humanity for the outside. So, then you are not interested in what happens on the outside. You don’t want to know anything about the outside. You want to stay in your little cage, you want to hide so that no-one can hear or see you. You want to stay in that cage.
In other words, many of the residents of Pango Camp that were interviewed expressed that they are not particularly partial to outside news, especially the party and national politics of the day. They appeared to have lost their faith in politics and those who held positions of power, perhaps due to not having an impact on the public sphere themselves – excluded from it due to their poverty. This results not only in a strongly perceived disparity between the inside and the outside, but also in a sense that once you are “on the inside”, you are powerless and without much humanity. This closely corresponds with the findings from Robinson, Else, Sherlock and Zass-Ogilvie (2009: 5-7) arguing that poverty excludes a person from fully participating in debates as equal citizens since the mainstream news media tends not to focus on poverty, and therefore poor people generally feel that their outlooks, views, opinions and experiences are inadequate and unimportant. In support and to elaborate on this viewpoint, this study found that Pango Camp participants indicate a link between poverty and feeling stuck, which turns people inwards, and that inward focus affects their definition of news and the differentiation between inside and outside news.
5.3.3.3 Misrepresentation by the outside
In the literature, it is further suggested that another reason why the poor often do not relate to news as do other socio-economic groups, is as result of the way they are represented in the media (McKendrick et al., 2008: 31). Research suggests that the poor tend to be misrepresented, marginalised or negatively stereotyped in news reports (Greer, 2008: 69; Harper, 2014: 83-97; Van Gorp, Van de Velde & Blow, 2005: 1-36; Wood & Hendricks, 2009: 16).
However, contrary to findings that the poor often feel that they are represented in a negative light by the mass media, Pango Camp participants do not tend to blame the
113 mass media for adverse and undesirable portrayals of themselves. Instead, their discontent with negative stereotyping and misrepresentation is towards social media groups and internet users who, in their opinion, create an incorrect and unfavourable perception of them.
Irene (55) feels that the people of Pango Camp are constantly vilified: “They talk trash about us on Facebook. They gang up on us. They say we drink and take drugs.” When the researcher asked Irene (55) who “they” were, she advised: “Many people, like Sunette Bridges and her friends, and Amanda de Lange20.” Elize (38) is also of the opinion that negative labels are used in Facebook discussions to refer to residents of Pango Camp: “This one time on Facebook, people said we were prostitutes and drug addicts and stuff like that. I’m not sure exactly who it was, but it was published on Facebook.” Mariska (21) believes unfortunate stories about them are posted by people within the area: “There are a few groups about Krugersdorp, and they’ll say bad things about us there, like that we have to give up our kids for adoption.” Blondie (34) feels the stigma attached to Pango Camp is unfair:
Everyone is not the same, but they make as if we all are. They say those people from Pango Camp use drugs and drink and they don’t look after their children. Look at me, I don’t use drugs and I don’t drink. I tell everyone, if I had to drink or do drugs, I’d rather take that money and give it to my children.
Although negative social media articles and posts do not deter Pango Camp participants from engaging with social media, and Facebook in particular, the perception they feel is created of them, further cements the sense of a divide between the inside and the outside. The prime mass mediated news participants of this study consider, is social media – specifically Facebook. The reason could be that Facebook constitutes a large part of their conception of news.
20 The names of these two people (who are prominent figures amongst Afrikaans-speaking people) were mentioned frequently by participants. From the accounts of respondents, it would appear that both Sunette Bridges and Amanda de Lange had, at some point, offered assistance to Coronation Caravan Park residents, but that conflict arose which resulted in a strained and often hostile relationship between Pango Camp residents and these two women. Sunette Bridges was apparently involved in providing housing to evicted Coronation Caravan Park residents in Kleinvallei and several residents initially chose to move there instead of Munsieville. As result of a misunderstanding in terms of expectations, there was a fall-out, which resulted in many Kleinvallie residents leaving and either moving to Pango Camp, Munsieville or somewhere else where, like in Pango Camp, there are no restrictions and regulations placed on them regarding work or other obligations. 114 In summary, this section indicated a clear differentiation between news from within Pango Camp and news about the “outside”. Participants distinctly differentiate between “their” news and what “others” are interested in, as well as what the people on the outside say about them – in their view they are often misrepresented or stereotyped by “outsiders”, especially on social media. Aside from occasional soft news, the detachment from the outside and news pertaining to it is predominantly as result of not relating to outside news. Furthermore, participants predominantly expose themselves to mainstream news from the outside out of habit or boredom.
5.4 Theme 3: Access to conventional news sources and access to voice platforms
Access to information and opportunities to voice views is a basic human right (United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948: 5). Citizens use information and voice platforms to participate in their communities and country, and to engage in the public sphere on matters that concern many others. Cañizález (2011: 50) as well as Tacchi and Kiran (2008: 31-32) argue that a lack of access to information and a lack of access to platforms that could be used by citizens to voice their views are associated with poorer communities. This divide between those with access and those without, may result in a sense of despondency within the latter group since their interests may appear unimportant and forgotten. This will probably generate feelings of exclusion from the broader society as a result. However, with the introduction of interactive platforms on the internet and social network sites, optimists have argued that marginalised groups may use these tools to voice their views in digital public spheres (Ahn, 2011: 159). This argument is countered by sceptics pointing out unequal access to the internet – the digital divide (Bornman, 2014: 7; Britz, 2004: 192; Nwagwu, 2006: 167). For this reason, Tacchi and Kiran (2008: 31- 32), Cañizález (2011: 50) and Neuman (2002: 5) argue that poverty is often associated with information poverty and voice poverty. This section investigates the validity of these arguments within the Pango Camp community and, if applicable, how these manifest in Pango Camp specifically.
115 5.4.1 Topic 1: Access to conventional news sources
Participants in various global and local media studies report a variety of media sources that they use to obtain information and news from the outside (Ugboaja, 1985: 161; Zossou et al., 2015: 1057-1066; Chapman et al., 2003: 1-12; Manyozo, 2009: 1; Mishra, 1972: 77; Ogan, 1987: 159-161; Banerjee & Duflo, 2007: 1-22; Smith, 2011: 1-185). These include traditional news sources such as magazines, newspapers, television and radio as well as new media sources like social media and the internet in general. This section explores Pango Camp participants’ preferred media sources.
5.4.1.1 Magazines
A popular magazine that receives the most attention within Pango Camp, is an Afrikaans weekly consumer magazine Huisgenoot. However, although participants enjoy the content of this magazine, the cost thereof remains an obstacle. In fact, according to Media Update (2009), Huisgenoot has the widest reach in the high 8-10 Living Standard Measure (LSM21) category. As Elize (38) pointed out:
I love Huisgenoot articles. It’s just, I can’t really afford it. It’s too expensive. We wait for sponsors to bring the old magazines and then we read them.
Denise (40), when asked if she enjoys reading Huisgenoot, answered: “I do, but it’s expensive. For us, it is too expensive”. Mariska (21) likes “paging through” Huisgenoot, but admitted that she would never buy it. Instead, she explained that, “every now and then my mother-in-law [who also lives in Pango Camp] buys it and then I’ll go to their place and go through it there”. This communal sharing of the Huisgenoot magazine is not uncommon, with Irene (55) also indicating that often one person in the Pango Camp community will buy Huisgenoot and will “come and wave it here, shouting ‘Auntie Irene, we have the Huisgenoot!’” Lorraine (43) is the only participant to report that she reads Vrouekeur.
21 According to Eighty 20 (n.d.), the SAARF Living Standards Measure (LSM) – the most widely used segmentation tool in South Africa – groups people according to their living standards. It discounts race, gender, age or any other variable used to categorise people (http://www.eighty20.co.za/lsm-calculator, n.d.). Instead it focuses and encompasses elements such as access to various media sources and possession of electronic goods, motorized motor vehicles and other amenities (http://www.eighty20.co.za/lsm-calculator, n.d.).
116 Magazine sharing (or communal reading) is one way of overcoming the expense hurdle, whilst another is to access Huisgenoot articles through Facebook. Nicky (20) commented that, “we don’t buy the Huisgenoot. We read it on Facebook rather.” Blondie (34) also indicated that she has “Huisgenoot on my phone through Facebook”, and Elize (38) said that she used “Facebook to have a look at Huisgenoot.” Paul (41) also remarked that he followed Huisgenoot on Facebook.
5.4.1.2 Newspapers
The Krugersdorp News is a favourite amongst participants of this study. This newspaper is published once a week on a Wednesday and is distributed free. The complementary nature of this publication appears to be the predominant reason for its popularity. The localised, personal and human-interest focus of the Krugersdorp News also adds to its appeal. Alfonso (45) welcomes the accessibility of this newspaper:
You know, with the media and so, even if they [his fellow Pango Camp residents] only get the Krugersdorp News, that tiny little newspaper, at least then they will see a little bit of what’s happening on the outside.
Elize (38) said: “I’m always eager to read the Krugersdorp News. Once a week, we get it in town. It’s the free newspaper. It’s always about Krugersdorp and what happens in Krugersdorp and stuff like that.” Mariska (21), Dane (24), Nicky (20), Ricky (29), Ewald (27), Irene (55), Alfonso (45), Maria (53), Gareth (39) and Paul (41) all indicated that they read the Krugersdorp News, if not weekly, regularly. A collective approach, even to this free newspaper, appears to be followed:
The Krugersdorp News you get for free. You can go and collect it in town or the other people will go into town to get it and then you can read it. Many people here go to the shops in town and then they’ll bring a whole stack of the [Krugersdorp News] newspapers back with them (Irene, 55).
Alfonso (45) concurred that this was the pattern mostly followed: “I don’t go into town to get the Krugersdorp News myself. The people will come back with it. The ones
117 that walk to town every day.” Nicky (20) said that her father (Hugo, 54) typically goes to get the Krugersdorp News in town and Mariska (21) described that an oompie further down the road usually goes into town and on his way back he gets a few copies of the Krugersdorp News: “He’ll then give one to my mother-in-law and I’ll read it once she’s done with it.” Paul (41) also informed the researcher that he never has to collect the Krugersdorp News himself: “The people who go into town, they bring it for us.” The town these participants referred to was not more than 2 kilometers away in Roodepoort and Newlands.
As with other media engagements, it appears that obtaining the Krugersdorp News is an activity in itself, as is paging through the actual newspaper. This, again, raises the question of whether news engagement is truly to obtain information, or merely seen as something to do. In discussing Krugersdorp News content, accounts from participants were often vague and generic. It could be that participants had forgotten the specific articles they read, or it could be that content is merely skimmed over as part of an activity.
Another newspaper that receives some attention and which is read occasionally is the only Afrikaans Sunday newspaper in the country, Rapport. This is mostly consumed by participants who sell this newspaper at traffic lights and street corners. Jeff (65), a Rapport roadside salesman, considers himself “one of the first people to see the news on a Sunday” and Japie (71), also a Rapport seller, reported that he reads the Rapport while he is “working with it.” Daniël (63) sells Rapport as well, but admitted to only reading or scanning over the front page. The researcher suspects that Jeff (65) and Japie (71) also rarely engage with Rapport content further or deeper than the front page and main headings as these were the only stories they appeared to be aware of. Paul (41) is the only participant reporting that he buys and reads the Rapport newspaper every Sunday.
5.4.1.3 Television
An additional media source of information and entertainment in Pango Camp is television. The satellite dishes protruding from rooftops are an obvious feature within this community, and the researcher investigated what these were predominantly
118 used for. None of the Pango Camp participants have DSTV subscriptions, but instead receive paid-for television services through OpenView HD and Star Sat. OpenView HD is a free HD satellite television service offering over twenty television channels and radio stations (http://www.openviewhd.co.za/, n.d.) Programming includes music, films, lifestyle, children’s entertainment and religious broadcasts (http://www.openviewhd.co.za/, n.d.). SABC and e.tv also form part of the OpenView HD bouquet (http://www.openviewhd.co.za/, n.d.). OpenView HD requires no contracts or monthly fees – the user only pays once for the satellite dish and the decoder, and the rest of the services remain free (http://www.openviewhd.co.za/, n.d.). Irene (55), an OpenView HD subscriber, explained the service:
You get everything on it. You get the news on it, sport, children’s programmes, SABC 1, SABC 2, SABC 3, e.tv, movies, Indian channels and other overseas stuff. It’s like DSTV, but you only pay once. You install it and then you never have to pay again. Quite a lot of people here have it. They come to Hugo [her husband] and they say they want that machine [decoder] and then he orders it for them, he goes to collect it and then he gives it to them. He installs it as well. He is clever.
StarSat is a satellite television service that offers a multitude of different television and audio channels (http://starsat.co.za/, n.d.). They have several package options ranging between R99 per month and R199 per month (http://starsat.co.za/, n.d.). StarSat decoders can be purchased from major retail outlets, and StarSat covers the cost of installation (http://starsat.co.za/, n.d.).
Elize (38), a StarSat user, said: “I watch TV. I have Star Sat. It’s like OpenView HD, but you pay every month. I’m going to move over to OpenView HD.” Alfonso (45) admitted to watching the news, but added: “Movies … I love movies. That’s what we watch on OpenView HD.” His preferences are similar to those of Lorraine (43) who, although she is not a subscriber of paid-for television services, enjoys watching movies on DVD. Mariska (21) is another StarSat subscriber and explained the channels on this service as “almost like DSTV, but with only a few channels like 1, 2 and 3, e.tv and a movie channel. Lots of kiddies channels.” As mentioned before, Mariska (21) particularly enjoys the programme Fine Living, which focuses on interior 119 design projects. Paul (41), who has OpenView HD, told the researcher that he watches the news “whenever I have a chance”, but that it is mostly for the use of his children, who “watch their stuff.” Dane (24) and Nicky (20) who live together are also OpenView HD subscribers and they commented that they watch the news “every evening”.
Several participants (Denise, 40; Japie, 71; Jannie, 63 and Susanna, 44) are not paid-for television subscribers, but they enjoy free channels, SABC 1, SABC 2, SABC 3 and e.tv. Complaints about quality of reception were often mentioned and participants have to use “bunny ears” aerials to improve their viewing experience. In fact, Blondie (34), Ricky (29) and Lorraine (43) mentioned that their inability to afford an aerial is the reason they do not watch television (except DVDs in Lorraine’s case). Blondie (34) and her husband Pat (35) do own a television set, however, but maintain this cannot be utilised to watch “channels” as they do not have the means to afford an aerial.
Television watching appears to be predominantly for entertainment purposes and few participants reported regular television news engagement. Communal or shared television watching does not appear to occur except within families where one member of a family who does not live in the same home as another family member will visit each other and watch television together.
5.4.1.4 Radio
The use of radios is mostly as a background feature and music was often being played while the researcher conducted her interviews. Jannie (63) pointed out: “I switch it on at night and the next day it’s still playing”.
The only radio channels that are reportedly listened to are Jacaranda FM, Highveld Stereo, Radio Sonder Grense (RSG), and 5 FM. Ewald (27) is the only participant who listens to 5 FM and he does so purely for the music. Japie (71) explained that he “listens to the radio the whole day long, to Jacaranda” and Rudolph (18) and his mom Elize (38), who live together, alternate between listening to Jacaranda FM and RSG. Alfonso (45) and his wife appear to follow the same pattern, with him
120 explaining that he “prefers RSG, but my wife likes the music on Jacaranda.” Nicky (20) also enjoys the music on “Jacaranda and 94.7” (Highveld Stereo), and Gareth (39) said he listens to Jacaranda for the music and the news.
In other words, this study’s participants tend to expose themselves to the mass media frequently, but they mostly do so for entertainment purposes through the lesser expensive media and communal media consumption, and not primarily to consume news. This finding is in line with the literature arguing that soft news containing tabloid and human-interest related content is more popular with individuals with lower education levels (Baum, 2007: 122) and that the poor tend to use the mass media as a source of entertainment and not predominantly as an information platform (Putnam, 2016: 211).
5.4.2 Topic 2: Information poverty/conventional news poverty
Information poverty is a result of not having access to information (Goulding, 2001: 109; Britz, 2004: 192). Different forms of access exist. The first is physical access to information (Van Dijk & Van Deursen, 2012: 2). Table 3 below indicates the physical access to news media of participants of this study:
Name Age Gender Employment Interviewed Self-reported physical status with access to news media Alfonso 45 Male Unemployed Newspaper (Krugersdorp News), radio (Jacaranda FM and RSG), television (OpenView HD), social media (Facebook) Blondie 34 Female Unemployed Pat, Dot Newspaper (Krugersdorp (aka and Gideon News), radio (Jacaranda Estelle) FM), social media (Facebook) Dane 24 Male Part-time, a Nicky Newspaper (Krugersdorp few times a News), radio (Jacaranda month FM and Highveld Stereo), television (OpenView HD), social media (Facebook) Daniël 63 Male Part-time, Newspapers (Rapport and Sundays Krugersdorp News) David 62 Male Unemployed No access
121 Name Age Gender Employment Interviewed Self-reported physical status with access to news media Denise 40 Female Unemployed Japie Newspaper (Krugersdorp News), radio (Jacaranda FM), television (SABC 1, 2, 3 & e.tv), social media (Facebook) Dot 58 Female Unemployed Blondie, Pat Newspaper (Krugersdorp and Gideon News), radio (Jacaranda FM), television (OpenView HD), social media (Facebook) Elize 38 Female Part-time, Rudolph Newspaper (Krugersdorp every day but News), radio (Jacaranda only in the FM and RSG), television mornings (StarSat), social media Ewald 27 Male Unemployed Gareth Newspaper (Krugersdorp News), radio (5 FM), social media (Facebook) Gareth 39 Male Self- Ewald Newspaper (Krugersdorp employed News), radio (Jacaranda FM), social media (Facebook) Gideon 60 Male Full-time Blondie, Dot Newspaper (Krugersdorp and Pat News), radio (Jacaranda FM), television (OpenView HD), social media (Facebook) Hugo 54 Male Unemployed Newspaper (Krugersdorp News), television (OpenView HD), social media Irene 55 Female Unemployed Maria Newspaper (Krugersdorp News), television (OpenView HD), social media
Jannie 63 Male Unemployed Susanna Newspaper (Krugersdorp News), radio (Jacaranda FM), television (SABC 1, 2, 3 & e.tv) Japie 71 Male Part-time, Denise Newspapers (Rapport and Sundays Krugersdorp News), radio (Jacaranda FM), television (SABC 1, 2, 3 & e.tv) Jeff 65 Male Part-time, Newspapers (Rapport and Sundays Krugersdorp News) Lorraine 43 Female Part-time, ad Newspaper (Krugersdorp hoc a few News), social media times a (Facebook) month
122 Name Age Gender Employment Interviewed Self-reported physical status with access to news media Maria 53 Female Unemployed Irene Newspaper (Krugersdorp News), television (OpenView HD), social media (Facebook)
Mariska 21 Female Unemployed Newspaper (Krugersdorp News), television (StarSat), social media (Facebook) Nicky 20 Self- Part-time, a Dane Newspaper (Krugersdorp claimed few times a News), radio (Jacaranda transgender month FM and Highveld Stereo), television (OpenView HD), social media (Facebook) Pat 35 Male Unemployed Blondie, Dot Newspaper (Krugersdorp and Gideon News), radio (Jacaranda FM), social media (Facebook) Paul 41 Male Self- Newspaper (Rapport and employed Krugersdorp News), radio (Jacaranda FM), television (OpenView HD), social media (Facebook) Ricky 29 Female Unemployed Newspaper (Krugersdorp News), social media (Facebook) Rudolph 18 Male Unemployed Elize Newspaper (Krugersdorp News), radio (Jacaranda FM and RSG), television (StarSat), social media (Facebook) Susanna 44 Female Unemployed Jannie Newspaper (Krugersdorp News), radio (Jacaranda FM), television (SABC 1, 2, 3 & e.tv)
Table 3: Participants’ physical access to media sources
Other forms of access to information, and in the case of this study, access to news sources, include, according to Newhagen and Bucy (2004: 265-268), content access – that is cognitive access (understanding of the content of information) and social access (whether a particular society or community is able to penetrate the world of information. Not having access to information causes a divide between those who have access and those who do not, and if in a digital environment, a digital divide (Bornman, 2014: 7; Britz, 2004: 192; Nwagwu, 2006: 167). The digital divide has multiple facets and it can be caused by a lack of motivation to access information, by not having physical or material access or by not having the skills to access it or all of 123 these (Van Dijk & Van Deursen, 2012: 2). If these two sets of information are read together, the many reasons for not having access to information are exposed. Generally speaking, the participants of this study indicated that many of Pango Camp residents actually have some access to sources of news information.
Only one participant, David (62), reported that he has no access to any news media (traditional and online news media). He clarified: “Magazine and newspaper print is too small for me to read and I don’t have electricity for a radio or television.” He did however add “I could go and sit [to watch television] at my wife’s sister place up top there [in Pango Camp], but it’s not for me.” The motivational access of David is thus low when it comes to his media engagements. Similarly, the motivation to access information seems low for Daniël (63) and Jeff (65), and they attribute their lack of motivation to their age and to their disinterest in politics. They both said that their only media interaction is with the newspaper (Rapport) they sell on Sundays. Neither of them expressed a particular interest in the content of this Sunday newspaper, though. Jeff (65) announced: “I don’t read about Zuma, nothing about him. Not that baboon.”22 Daniël (63), when asked if he reads the paper he sells, responded: “Ag no, I just sell the things. I’ll maybe have a look at the front page, but with the government we have, I’m not interested.” When asked about internet or social media usage, Jeff (65) declared: “I haven’t got close to that. I wasn’t born with those things,” and Daniël (63) expressed that he was “too old for Facebook.” One could argue that these three participants suffer from a lack of access to mediated information by choice, but they also indicated that they get information from other people. It would thus be an oversimplification to assume that a lack of media usage is equated to information poverty. This corresponds with the findings of Hersberger (2002-2003: 57), who suggests that just because someone does not have consistent access to mass media source and the internet, does not naturally mean that they suffer from information poverty.
Susanna (44), Jannie (63) and Japie (71) did not report access to social media or the internet, as they only rely on traditional media sources such as newspapers, radio and television. It would therefore appear that, although the Pango Camp community
22 The researcher appreciates that this comment and the language used will be considered highly offensive and disrespectful. It is included solely to convey the aggressively negative view of the participant. 124 carries little knowledge of outside news, respondents are aware of opportunities available to them that could assist in improving their lifestyles and standard of living. When considered exclusively, this would suggest that the majority of Pango Camp participants do not suffer from information poverty (Barja & Gigler, 2007: 17; Cañizález, 2011: 50) however conflicting and paradoxical this may appear considering how little they know about what is featured in the news media. Most respondents are able to engage with news media stories and articles that interest them. They are also active in liaising with donors and other group networks. These helpful and aiding avenues are managed through social media and mobile phone connectivity.
Information poverty and voice poverty typically imply exclusion, and this level and experience of exclusion is often synonymous with people who live in poverty (Neuman, 2002: 5; Cañizález, 2011: 50; Tacchi, 2008: 12). A remarkable aspect of this research study is that the Pango Camp respondents did not express a sensation of exclusion. As discussed earlier, they do not consider themselves removed or barred from the general population in spite of their deliberate and distinct differentiation between the inside and the outside. As contradictory as this may appear, the Pango Camp participants are convincing and adamant in expressing their perceptions of inclusion.
Denise (40) said “we are good here, we feel part of the country. We can comment and there are also sponsors and reporters that come here, and even people from overseas who want to make videos of us. Take for example the foreigners this week23, they came to visit to have a look, and then when they go back, they tell people about how we live. I take that’s how you spread and share yourself.”
In further support of this viewpoint, Jannie (63) considers being on the list for an RDP house an indication that he is being included in the broader country:
23 As mentioned earlier, when the researcher started the project at Pango Camp, there were approximately 20 missionaries from Europe and North America camping in tents in front of Irene (55) and Hugo’s (54) home. They spent four days at Pango Camp. This was not unusual, as a Danish photographer also visited Pango Camp while the researcher was conducting interviews. The concept and existence of “white squatter camps” draws much local and international attention. 125 I really think we’re part of it [the country]. See, a long time ago, we applied for RDP houses and they have it on record. They have it. Ag, it’s probably three, four years ago that we applied. We went there at six in the morning and sat at the office and they took down our details. They know exactly what’s going on.
Ewald (27) passionately exclaimed that he never feels isolated at all: “I am fully connected [to the rest of the country]. Fully, fully, fully.” Paul (41) also declared that Pango Camp residents never feel excluded as “everyone here can go in and out to town, we have public transport and the kids go to school.”
It thus appears that despite the seemingly self-imposed divide between residents of Pango Camp and the outside world, the Pango Camp participants do not experience a sensation of rejection. One could therefore suggest that any exclusion that is experienced by the Pango Camp participants is wilful and self-directional, in other words intentionally self-inflicted from the participants’ side. Gareth (39) directly stated that “I like being isolated” and Blondie (34) suggested that “they [Pango Camp residents] avoid the outside on purpose. They don’t want to know about it.”
What could further be contributing to Pango Camp residents not experiencing exclusion directed at them or a general sense of information poverty is the presence and interest from political parties. Although not many participants reported on politically affiliated visits (participants indicated a general disinterest in politics), Irene (55) told the researcher that “the ones who come the most to talk to us is the ANC24.” The DA has also been here. A woman came from the DA. When she was chosen, she came here once. An old lady. But the ones who come here the most are the ANC, they don’t look down on us.” Mariska (21), who wore a DA T-shirt at the time of the interview, also mentioned that “a woman [from the DA] comes here. They come to drop off some stuff and the one day they handed out T-shirts, but not for everyone. Only a few people got T-shirts and then they said we should put them on and then they took a group photo of the people. They even gave T-shirts to the kids.” Blondie (34) struggled to remember which political party it was that visited Pango
24 The African National Congress (ANC), Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are the largest political parties in South Africa. At the time of the interview, the ANC was the national ruling party, and the DA the ruling municipal party within the city of Johannesburg. 126 Camp, but then remembered: “It’s the DA that comes here. We see them every now and then.” Elize (38) said that “the EFF came around and they asked me if I knew what they did, but I told them I’m not interested in politics. It’s always just talk, talk, talk.”
In other words, all participants, including David (62), have access to some type of news source. The choice to engage or not to engage with whichever type of information they deem worthwhile is, to an extent, within their power and control.
5.4.3 Topic 3: Voice poverty
Voice poverty implies a lack of access to platforms where views can be expressed (Mohr, 2008: 9). The consequence of such a lack is that the voices of marginalised groups of society cannot be heard (Mohr, 2008: 9). A lack of opportunities to voice views inadvertently reduces one’s chances of affecting the public sphere and public policy (Cañizález, 2011: 50).
Conflicting sentiments regarding voice poverty were expressed during the interviews. On the one hand, respondents would relay frustration and a lack of trust towards politics and the government. To illustrate, Japie (71) remarked that “politics is too far away, we’re not interested in that”, and Lorraine (43) expressed:
There’s nothing I can do about that [politics]. It always stays the same. They [leaders of the country] do whatever they want to do.
Daniël (63) asked “Why should I care about that? There’s a fortune there and what do we get? Nothing. None of this makes a difference to me.” Mariska (21) explained that politics feel out of her control, as “the people just talk, they make promises to do this and that, but you never get it, so I don’t really worry about it.” Blondie (34) expressed that having an interest in the economy or politics “won’t make a difference. At least when I know about the other stuff (crime), I can protect my kids.” Paul (41) stated that “they’re all corrupt, so what the hell? It doesn’t matter what you say or do.”
127 When it comes to voting as a way to voice opinion, diverse views and actions were reported. Lorraine (43), Hugo (54) and Jannie (63) stated that they vote – Jannie (63) missed the municipal elections, but voted in the national elections in 2014. Irene (55) and Maria (53) mentioned that they used to vote, but did not elaborate on their current voting attitudes or approach. Mariska (21) told the researcher: “I wanted to vote this year, but everywhere we went, they told us that we couldn’t vote there. And when we went to where we had to vote, no-one was there from the DA, so we didn’t end up voting.” This could suggest a level of information poverty, but one would need to establish if the necessary information could not have been made available to Mariska (21) through Hugo (54) if purposeful enquiry had been done before election day. Blondie (34) declared: “I used to vote two years ago, but now I don’t vote anymore. The thing is, to be honest with you, I only vote for three things – me, myself and I. I can only rely on myself.” Gareth (39), Ewald (28) and Paul (41) told the researcher that they had “never voted” in their lives. In general, the Pango Camp participants indicated a passive approach to participating in the public and political sphere through voting.
The notion that politics “happens far away”, that respondents are removed from it, and that they have no control over what transpires in the world of politics was persistently voiced. Considering that voice poverty refers to the exclusion from participation in social, political and economic processes through expressing thoughts and opinions (Britz, 2004: 193; Tacchi, 2008: 12), this deliberate evasion reveals voice poverty to some extent, even if it is self-imposed. This voice poverty seems to arise from the fact that politics feels foreign to them, and participants feel they have no impact on what transpires in government. This, coupled with a lack of understanding and a fundamental disinterest, leads to purposefully avoidant attitudes and disengagement from political and economic news and participatory voice platforms.
Yet, on the other hand, participants appeared satisfied with Hugo (54) conducting administrative or official arrangements on their behalf, with limited or non-existent input from themselves – this could therefore perhaps be seen as elective voice poverty. Furthermore, participants regularly comment and interact on Facebook, expressing their views on group network pages that they follow. It can therefore be 128 suggested that, similar to information access, Pango Camp participants engage where and how they want to. However, the inability to reach those in power or with influence does not result in Pango Camp residents being active on the local front through communication or interaction with the community leader Hugo (54). Hugo plays an informative and facilitative role in relaying messages from the municipality to the Pango Camp residents, but they do not use his role as mediator to distribute messages to local leaders or authority figures on their behalf. Hugo explained:
That’s just the way it is. They [Pango Camp residents] just sit and wait to see what’s going to happen. Honestly, they just wait. At the park, I asked them, who wants to come to court with me? There was only one guy. And the next time when I asked him, he said he didn’t have time. See, I don’t have a choice. I have to make time.
Participants’ role in the public sphere is not entirely and conclusively passive, however. Certain participants actively contribute information to Facebook through comments and interaction on group networks. Denise (40) is part of Women’s Life Group on Facebook and described that she enjoys interacting and asking questions on this platform:
I have a Labrador and a Boerboel, so I’ll ask questions about those types of dogs. That way I get lots of information. I’m really into my Facebook. I’m part of many groups on it. There’s a lot of stuff on Facebook, even about the fighting in parliament, and when I think it’s stupid, I’ll comment.
Nicky (20) remarked: “I comment a lot. Especially when something is interesting or attractive, then I’ll always comment on it.” Blondie (34) mentioned partaking in conversations on “Hope for the Future” on Facebook, and Paul (41) said: “I regularly express my opinion” on the groups and pages of Die Boere Eenheid 25 (The Farmers Unit) and Boere Krisis Aksie (Farmers Crisis Action).
25 Directly translated, boer means farmer, but the word boer is also used to describe someone who is an Afrikaner – an Afrikaans-speaking South African of Dutch heritage. 129 It can therefore be suggested that Pango Camp participants engage publicly in ways they feel they have access to – motivational access, physical access, social access, and technological access – such as Facebook. Furthermore, in terms of the uses and gratifications categories developed by Sundar and Limperos (2013: 518-519) for a new media environment, participants’ engagement on Facebook corresponds with the field referred to as agency (Sundar & Limperos, 2013: 518-519). These participants feel that their social media engagements allow for agency enhancement since they are able to have their say and express their beliefs and views (Sundar & Limperos, 2013: 518-519).
Voice poverty is thus not a simplistic issue within this study since some Pango Camp residents appeared to be active in the public sphere. Judging from feedback from community leader Hugo (54), Pango Camp residents chose to be passive when it comes to aspects that involve broader, more complex macro-scale issues and information. The question to what extent their actions have an impact remains, however. Nevertheless, despite participants’ apparent lack of interest to expansively expose themselves to outside news, they seem aware of some opportunities available to them, and they also express their needs and opinions on certain platforms. The mass news media is not primarily used for this, however, but instead other means are employed – social media and face-to-face communication.
As is evident from the previous section, the participants of this study define news not in the conventional sense, but in distinguishing between inside and outside news. They lack interest in the politics of the day and the mainstream news of the day, but prefer to define news that has meaning for them on a personal level. They seem to engage with conventional news sources such as newspapers and television news for leisure and to have something to do instead of primarily for gaining information as a surveillance function of the environment. They tend to enjoy human-interest news stories, especially sensational stories that are shocking or are within close proximity or culturally akin to them. Subsequently, it is no surprise that they enjoy reading information that catches their attention on social media. They tend to find some community on Facebook, again the sites that seem to be culturally aligned with their interests. As it has been established that participants of this study prefer social media, the next section investigates in more detail their social media news 130 consumption patterns. The next section also investigates other news sources such as interpersonal communication.
5.5 Theme 4: Other news sources and news media consumption
This section explores how Pango Camp residents use interpersonal communication, through personal relationships and connections, as news sources. In the process, it investigates the nature and workings of information flows, social networks and social capital in Pango Camp.
5.5.1 Interpersonal communication spreads news
As mentioned before, outside news is not of particular interest to most Pango Camp residents. They do not appear to engage in conversation or dialogues to discuss current events and local or international news as portrayed by the news media. Alfonso (45) clarified:
Here, people won’t talk about what was said on the radio. They will talk about an accident there by the robot or a tree that fell over. That’s how far conversations go here.
Paul (41) echoed this sentiment in suggesting that the news that travels from person to person within Pango Camp is “not really about the outside, It’s about [things that happen] around here.” Lorraine (43) described the process of how inside news travels: “Look, when you live here and you walk out, then you’ll hear this one is talking about that one, and then that one will say it to someone else and so on.” In this vein, Denise (40) called everyone in Pango Camp “speaker phones,” and Alfonso (45) remarked that “here, everyone knows everyone else’s ins and outs, unfortunately.” Mariska (21) supported the view on how stories spread:
When someone hears something, they will tell one other person and then that one will tell the whole world. That’s how you’ll always hear it. That’s how the
131 people are here. It will happen and the truth will never come out about who said what. Then everyone will blame the next person.
When the researcher asked Mariska (21) if she would consider this type of news, gossip, she answered: “Yes, that is what it is. Like, let’s say we’re talking and someone walks in here, then that person can run to someone else and say that something was said about them, even if it was never said at all.” Blondie (34) shared this opinion and declared that she deliberately avoids being involved in such behaviour: “I won’t go and have coffee. I’ll have coffee at my own house then I know there’s no gossiping and lying.” Pango Camp residents often interpret and view such inside news channels as malicious. As Irene (55) pointed out “There’s a bunch of the most underhanded, two-faced snakes in here. They gossip behind your back all the time.” Paul (41) feels that people in Pango Camp enjoy distributing inside news and gossip. He stated: “Everyone here is Antjie Koerantjie [Auntie Newspaper].”
In other words, inside news travels exclusively through informal conversations when Pango Camp residents visit each other or communicate in the streets and in front of their houses. These interactions spread news regarding the actions, behaviour, events and other dialogues that involve fellow Pango Camp residents.
5.5.2 Personal contacts and societal networks
Even though most participants in this study reported getting social internal news from fellow residents, the role of one person, the community leader Hugo (54) was repeatedly mentioned as a person of particular importance in Pango Camp. He is pivotal in distributing news about the outside world to the residents of Pango Camp. In fact, he is more than just a news source, he plays an important role in negotiating on behalf of the community. Hugo (54) does not have an official elected leadership status in the sense that he gets paid or has formally been instituted as the representative of the Pango Camp community. He ended up at Pango Camp through friends he knew who lived there and, whilst living there, he felt that he could assist with the removal threats the Coronation Caravan Park residents faced before they were moved to Pango Camp.
132 Shortly after Irene (55) and Hugo (54) moved to Coronation Caravan Park, the residents called on them to replace their existing community leaders. Irene (55) explained that:
…. on the day that we were all called to get together, I opened my cheeky mouth and said what was right and what wasn’t right. Then the people said they wanted me as community leader and even though I said I didn’t want to do it because it is too much work, they kept asking and asking that I should be community leader, and then my husband and I said yes and now we’ve been community leaders for almost thirteen years.
Although Irene (55) manages the task of receiving and distributing food and other donated items, she is not really acknowledged by participants as someone who assists them in receiving vital information related to their livelihoods and existence. Only Hugo (54) was mentioned in this regard, and he understands his role as such:
See, I can’t move, because then there’s no-one standing between the municipality and the people [of Pango Camp]. I went to court to give direction to things, because at the park you never knew where you stood with the municipality. Every time I went to court, I won. I told them [at court] to give me an idea, because I won’t always be around. So, I just wanted an idea of where the people will go at the end of the day, so I can tell the people [residents]. They [the authorities] said okay, we can make a deal and they’ll make sure the people get houses and stuff. I said okay, that sounds fine, but there’s one problem; where will we move the people to? They then told me they will move them here [to Munsievillle], so for about five years I came here to see what was going on and to make sure it will be safe, because the previous times, we couldn’t do it because the people here were very negative towards the people from Coronation Park. During those five years, I came here every now and then to come and talk to the people of Munsieville. I told them that the whole world’s eyes are going to be on us. We have to make peace and then the world can look at us. So, we made peace. Look, I can’t move even if I wanted to, because there are children here and who will look after everyone? I can’t
133 move. I’m busy sorting out houses with the municipality. I’m just waiting for the new councillor and then I’ll discuss it with him and them (Hugo, 54).
Elize (38) stated that Hugo “helped with the housing”, and Lorraine (43), when asked how they kept abreast of their pending RDP house status, explained that “Oom Hugo [Uncle Hugo] hears everything and then he tells us. The municipality manager will talk to Oom Hugo and he goes to meetings with them.” Susanna (44), when discussing their future RDP houses, enthusiastically declared: “Oom Hugo [Uncle Hugo] knows everything.” Jannie (63) further clarified that “with Hugo, they [the municipality] finally found this place for us. Now Hugo will help us get RDP houses, but we don’t know when yet.” Mariska (21) said that Hugo informed her how to register for an RDP house:
Basically, what Oom Hugo explained to us is that you must take your ID and your child’s birth certificate and then you must get yourself a proof of address. I told Oom Hugo when we weren’t successful and he said he will sort it out, and then the other day he said we must try again because we are only here [in Pango Camp] temporarily. We’re not going to stay here forever.
Upon further probing into how the news is disseminated from Hugo (54) to the rest of the Pango Camp residents, Mariska (21) announced that “when he gets new information, he will send someone around and say that we must meet at five or at six o’clock down at their place, because there will be a meeting.” Blondie (34) reiterated such community meetings by telling the researcher that when there is new important information “Oom Hugo will call everyone for a meeting and there he will say what is what.”
A similar pattern occurred in dealings and negotiations with donors. This is in line with the two-step flow of communication discussed in Chapter 3, where opinion leaders (in this case the community leader) receive information, process it and disseminate it to the broader community (Norris & Curtice, 2008: 4; Baran & Davis, 2015: 112; Hong, 2016: 46). Although this information is not necessarily obtained from the mass media, the principle of disseminating information remains the same.
134 In Chapter 3 it was noted that the poor tend to have strong and solid horizontal networks – social bonds between people of similar status, abilities and interests (Gowan, 2010: 51). Yet, for upward mobility and economic success, vertical bonds, are needed and the poor often fail in establishing these, even with the availability and assistance of information communication technologies and social network sites (Chigona et al., 2009: 14; Gigler, 2015, xxxiii). It appears that Hugo (54) has managed to increase his (and the community’s) social capital by forming vertical bonds with people and organisations outside Pango Camp by making use of social media and other communication platforms. These networks have proven to be beneficial. This confirms the view of Ellison, Steinfield and Lampe (2007: 1146) that social network sites assist even impoverished and marginalised users to create and maintain larger, dispersed networks of relationships from which they could potentially benefit in terms of extracting resources. As Irene explained: “Even from the days we were at the park, we sent out a mail to ask for help and the people came. It started there. My husband, Hugo, he sent the emails.” In addition to emailing individual people, Hugo (54) also used Facebook and the internet to ask for help:
Let me say it like this, it’s through Facebook that the people became aware of this [the white people in urban informal settlements]. And also through the internet [a personal community website]. We were on the internet and that, but I removed everything, because other people started copying the photos and made up stories [to benefit financially]. But I must tell you, if I have to go on the internet again, we’ll receive a lot.
When the researcher enquired whether Hugo (54) still uses the internet or Facebook to launch new advertising campaigns, he answered:
No, we have relationships with people … We do take new sponsors though. As they come in, they hand things out here. They come systematically and they normally ask what we need … everyone can’t buy maize, then I’ll sit with a ton of the stuff … We’ve built relationships and then they get [other] people [to help] and that’s how it goes on.
135 The rest of the Pango Camp participants appear content with Hugo (54), and with Irene (55), who sometimes help coordinate donations. They do not appear to question their community leaders’ ability to provide through the relationships they have developed and nurtured. As Denise (40) put it: “We have many sponsors who come here that Irene and Hugo organised for us. They organise everything for us”. Paul (41) does not think that he needs to try to attract potential benefactors himself as he simply said, “That is Hugo’s department. He does everything. He used to have a website.” Mariska (21), whose mother passed away during the time of the research study, said about the funeral: “Oom Hugo got people. They’re going to do it all for free. The only thing we have to take care of is the food afterwards and the flowers.” When the researcher asked Mariska (21) how she thought Hugo (54) has always been able to find sponsors, she replied: “I know he used to have a Facebook page.”
Although the relationship with the “sponsors” is predominantly managed through Hugo (54) and Irene (55), some participants reported individual and direct contact with donors. Elize (38) works for and gets paid a salary by the benefactor Charmaine for preparing breakfast and lunch for the school-going Pango Camp children. Her account of the role Charmaine plays indicates the level of assistance as well as the social capital involved within the total sponsor network. Elize (38) says:
They [donors] hear about us on the internet and from other people. Charmaine was also on Facebook and that’s how she picked it up about us, through Facebook and stuff like that. So, she has three or four sponsors that help her … She doesn’t use the internet, though. She doesn’t use the internet at all. She doesn’t publish on Facebook like the other people. She makes a newsletter and then she mails it to the people she knows. That’s how she helps with the school clothes, stationery and porridge and the medical kit we have here. She also helped with [dental] braces for my two boys.
Mariska (21) shared her own story of direct contact and a relationship with a relief organisation that assisted her:
… and they brought food and clothes and when anyone needed anything else, they would give to them. So, one day, my then-boyfriend [now husband] 136 and I were busy in our shack and they came to talk to us about how we met and if we are married and that. I told them that I’d always wanted a wedding but that with my husband’s salary, we could only afford to get married in court. They then asked us how we would feel if they organised a wedding for us. They did everything. The day before the wedding, they came to collect me and my sister-in-law and they took us to a spa and a hotel in Pretoria. We were spoiled and treated the whole day. We slept over there that evening and the next morning at seven, we went for breakfast and when we got back to the room, people were waiting for us to get us ready for the wedding – hair, make- up, everything. I used my two little daughters as ring bearers and we had the wedding on the Saturday. They organised everything. The church and everything. And when we got back here [to Pango Camp], they told us we must pack our bags for a week. We did that and that evening they came to get us and took us on a honeymoon, and on the Wednesday, they surprised us by bringing our kids for the last three days. I can’t remember the place’s name, but it was a guesthouse in Pretoria. It was beautiful, it had a swimming pool and when you walked down the lawn, there was a dam.
In other words, it seems that news from the outside about opportunities that may help the Pango Camp community reaches residents primarily via personal contacts established by Hugo (54) and in two cases, other residents’ contacts. While still residing at Coronation Caravan Park, Hugo (54) established contacts with relief organisations and other sympathetic groups through a website page he had created and via Facebook. Using email, WhatsApp and his cell phone for making and receiving calls, Hugo (54) has kept contact with these benefactors. Subsequently, a few other individuals have also established interpersonal contact (mostly through WhatsApp and Facebook) with people on the outside who offer help from time to time. In this regard, Facebook assists participants with agency enhancement, since this platform enables them to expand their social network and improve their social capital (Sundar & Limperos, 2013: 518-519).
The benefits of such help are often shared amongst residents of Pango Camp, depending on the nature of assistance. Information of such help is shared through interpersonal communication channels. 137 5.5.3 Shouting, calling and whistling
Personal contact is essential to spreading inside news within the Pango Camp community. As mentioned, Paul (41) referred to the people creating and distributing inside news as “Antjie Koerantjie” (Auntie Newspaper) and Mariska (21) believes that there is “always someone who will go around telling everyone this and that.” Aside from inside news travelling through the grapevine of person-to-person contact, the way in which messages are sent from the community leaders Hugo (54) and Irene (55) are distinctive.
When participants were asked how they are made aware of sponsors delivering food and other supplies, or how they know when Hugo (54) wants them to attend a meeting to discuss relevant community affairs, they described the casual way in which messages are delivered. Irene (55) manages donor deliveries and depicted the process as follows:
We shout ‘Food! Food!’26 and then everyone comes. With the food, we work with tickets. When shops deliver, then we pack everything out on the tables and then they wait in line. We take five-five at a time.
Elize (38), when asked how she knows when to collect food, pointed to the home of Irene (55) and Hugo (54), said: “She calls us. They stand there and shout, “People who want food must come now!”
Nicky (20) explained that her mom (Irene, 55) would yell, “Come everybody!” when sponsors come to deliver. Jannie (63) hears the calls from his home, but Blondie (34) finds out about deliveries and meetings through “someone that they send to come and call us.” Mariska (21), who lives in the same street (lane) as Blondie (34), also said that “as the people walk down (to Irene and Hugo’s home), they will call you. Lorraine (43) sometimes receives notice in advance when “Long Hair Petrus or someone else comes knocking on our door, telling us we have to bring our tickets and be at Irene’s place the next morning. If you don’t have your ticket then you don’t get anything.” Nicky (20) pointed out that for emergency calls within the community
26 The names of the specific retail brands have been removed from this quotation as it is the prerogative of each brand to release the names of its beneficiaries. 138 “they can blow their whistles. If something happens at night, then you blow your whistle and the whole community will come. If you don’t have time to blow your whistle, you just scream.”
Mobile phones and Facebook are not used to communicate internally. Instead, more traditional and direct methods of shouting, whistling and calling are used to engage the attention of other fellow Pango Camp participants. Although their close proximity living arrangements are conducive to these means of message distribution, it is still considered a different approach to perhaps other communities where tight-knit living quarters do not necessarily imply that communication is done through calling or whistling.
5.5.4 Social media, soft outside news, and mobile phones
The reliance of residents of Pango Camp on interpersonal sources of information was confirmed by Mariska (21) saying that “most of the people just stay in here. It’s just every now and then that they’ll go out for a little bit, just to try and make a plan for money.” Hugo (54) also mentioned to the researcher that, “I would say they [Pango Camp residents] don’t really go out to explore.” Elize (38) stated simply: “My friends are only in here.” Networks involving physical engagement are mostly restricted to the Pango Camp environment, but online networks on Facebook and WhatsApp groups exist and are utilised frequently. In fact, these are the platforms predominantly used by participants to gain information and news that will be of value to them.
5.5.4.1 WhatsApp as news source
WhatsApp groups assist participants in organising activities and employment opportunities. The most popular group and network system is a WhatsApp group called Munsie Moms. Mariska (21) described what this entails:
Basically, it’s just, it’s a woman who started it. Her name is Charmaine, and well, she really does a lot for the people here, for the kids. She buys them new school clothes every year, and new stuff for school and everything. So, she created this group, because normally she sends every mom a WhatsApp, 139 so she rather made a group and everyone she has on WhatsApp gets it. So, that way everyone knows when she, like, organises a party for the children. Like last week, she took the kids to Magalies [Magaliesberg mountains] for the day.
Denise (40) also referred to Munsie Moms: “Ag, they discuss the opportunities there are for the kids. What they want to do with them next year and so on. Most of the time, they talk about the future of their kids and then, for example, they’ll discuss an outing the kids will go on. So, some of the moms will go with.” Elize (38) gets paid to assist the creator of this group, Charmaine, to prepare breakfast and lunch for the Pango Camp school-going children, and she describes Munsie Moms as follows:
….. it was founded by my boss, because she does most of the stuff around here. She takes care of the children’s school clothes, and stationery, and they have outings every year. For the small and the bigger kids. Also, for the flu injections and deworming and so. We talk about that on Munsie Moms.
Another WhatsApp group that was mentioned was Robert Descriptions. Nicky (20) is part of this group and described it as a “pamphlet company. We hand out pamphlets for them and on the WhatsApp group, they tell us which days we have to work.”
5.5.4.2 Facebook and other internet sources of news
As discussed earlier, Facebook constitutes a large part of participants’ conception of news. Facebook was mentioned by several participants of this study as being a valuable source of outside news. Participants’ interest in news, however, was often restricted to information on opportunities that could lead to an improvement of their circumstances.
Paul (41), Blondie (34) and Mariska (21) are part of a group called Vat Weg Gratis En Verniet [Come and Collect/Remove for Free]. Paul (41) described the group as:
You know, it started because people put stuff on the site, and they say they have stuff in their garages and their garages are full, so they want someone
140 with a bakkie [small pick-up truck] to come and get it. But the site has changed a bit now and people sell stuff on it. You can pick up good bargains there.
Mariska (21) also viewed this group as useful: “You really get bargains on it. Ag, even if the washing machine only has a scratch on it, they give it away. They just give stuff away, even like couches with only small holes in them.” She described the process she followed to make use of the network site:
I will send them a message on Facebook, and then they will say I must WhatsApp them and if it’s still there and we can organise transport, then we can go and collect it. Look at that cupboard standing there in my room. They gave it away. The only thing wrong with it was that it didn’t have shelves.
Blondie (34) mentioned two other Facebook network groups she is part of: “Hope For The Future, and Weggee, Koop, Verkoop [Give Away, Buy, Sell] which is similar to Vat Weg Gratis En Verniet.” The former was described as:
…. a really nice one. Just the other day, on the 10th (of December), they had a thing for the kids. My kids went there last year for Christmas presents. This year we couldn’t go, but she [the organiser of the event] kept the gifts for me.
Blondie (34) is also part of the We’re Against Starvation (WAS) group on Facebook, and explained that “they also help people”, and although Blondie (34) did not express a desire to find permanent employment, she “worked the robots” (begged at traffic lights), she is part of a Facebook group called Werk Soek Bo Dertig (Job Search For Over 30s) and Help Blanke Mense Met Werk (Help White People With Work). Elize (38), who works for the sponsor Charmaine, follows Working Women on Facebook and said she finds the “messages and pictures motivating for women. It tells you to keep doing what you’re busy with.”
Aside from these groups that have direct beneficial information for Pango Camp participants, Facebook was the main source of news about the outside. In fact, Irene (55) estimates that 90% of Pango Camp residents have access to Facebook. 141 Participants join certain groups and receive regular updates from these affiliations. Blondie (34) described why Facebook was her media preference:
With magazines, they don’t always tell you what’s really happening on the outside. So, when I go onto Facebook, I’ll see about the crime and stuff. I have Roodepoort Record on my phone, Huisgenoot and Maroela Media. I also have News24 on my phone. I go onto the actual site and also through Facebook. I look at the top news. I look it up online. I don’t bother with newspapers. [On Facebook] I read the headlines and then I can click on the articles and go into them if I want. Even before it appears in the newspaper, it’s on Facebook and I’ve already read it.
Blondie’s reasoning behind using Facebook as her main source of outside news ties in with the uses and gratifications Sundar and Limperos (2013: 518) developed as result of the rise of new media. Blondie’s engagement specifically relates to the field of modality (novelty and “being there” in particular) – she considers the news content she engages with on Facebook fresh and new, and this is a considerable drive for her in choosing and using this news medium. Furthermore, it gives her access into a world she cannot physically be in as result of the sense of “stuckness” in her poverty. Nicky (20) declared the same affinity for using Facebook for the “newness” of the content and to gain visibility into a world she cannot physically access: “I always see the moment my groups put something on Facebook. It comes onto my page immediately and I can see everything.” For Denise (40), the uses and gratifications field of modality reaches even beyond simply engaging with new content – she considers what she reads on Facebook “the real truth”. This corresponds with the aspect of realness as part of the overall uses and gratifications field of modality.
Paul (41), a regular Facebook user, also likes Huisgenoot, Maroela Media and News24. He also follows, and sometimes comments, on the Facebook site of Boere Krisis Aksie. Denise (40), indicated that she uses Facebook for “the killing stories” about the farm murders, and also learned about Nkandla27, the student protest
27 Nkandla is the private residence of President Jacob Zuma. The president was found to have, unlawfully and unconstitutionally, spent taxpayers’ money on upgrades to his private home. This breach received wide and frequent media coverage. 142 action28 and the fighting in parliament via links and information shared on Facebook. She said she regularly uses Facebook for information:
… about the farmers, there’s a lot of that I watch. I also read about the little children that got hurt, they were bitten by a dog. In Johannesburg, the mom says she doesn’t know what happened. The dog just switched. Then you say to yourself; that dog changed the way its owner did. So, all those things and information are on Facebook.
Ricky (29) also uses Facebook to learn more about “the farm murders and those things.” Elize (38) said she has Huisgenoot, News24 and Krugersdorp News on her Facebook page and Alfonso (45) follows Maroela Media, News24 and Boere Krisis Aksie. Nicky (20) explained that she receives her information and news through her “likes on Facebook, like Huisgenoot, 7de Laan29 and News24. News24, they post a lot. That’s all we do all day – we’re on Facebook.” Similarly, Paul (41) announced: “I am Google myself. I spend the whole day on the computer.” He added that he regularly goes onto YouTube, News24 and Eyewitness News, “and also sites about technology, on how to upgrade and to fix [mobile phones],” since he repairs and sells these as a means to generate an income. Alfonso (45) reads News24 online and Ewald’s (27) main source of entertainment, conspiracy news and theories is online video clips found on YouTube.
It is noticeable in the Facebook and internet engagements of participants that they primarily use Facebook to retrieve information and not to create or produce information. Mariska (21) and Elize (38) are the only participants who reported that they post pictures of their children and of events in their lives (like Mariska’s wedding) on Facebook. This could be that as result of unemployment and poverty, participants do not engage in “newsworthy” or meaningful events often and thus have little to share with the world. It could also be that due to their sense of shame about living inside Pango Camp, they do not wish to share their lives with people on the outside – further solidifying the self-imposed distance from the rest of the world.
28 In 2016, several tertiary institutions in South Africa saw students protesting against tuition fees in the widely published Fees Must Fall movement. 29 7de Laan is a popular Afrikaans soap opera on SABC 2. 143
According to Blank (2013: 590, 597 & 598), different types of social content are created online. Using social network sites such as Facebook to post photos and upload videos is considered creating social and entertainment content. The activities of Mariska (21) and Elize (38) would fall into this category. Hugo (54) mentioned creating a website and a Facebook page in the past to attract the attention of benefactors. According to the categorisations offered by Blank (2013: 597), this would be seen as skilled content, since it takes a certain level of competency and ability to create and maintain a website. This is in line with the findings of Blank (2013: 590) and Micheli (2016: 565), suggesting that political content creation is associated with elite status, whereas lower socio-economic groups of society are more partial to creating skilled and social content.
Facebook is the only social media platform used by Pango Camp participants. It is seen as a crucial source of outside news and information. Fast and easy access to relatable, understandable and relevant content proves to be a considerable advantage for participants using Facebook. Facebook is also used to strengthen, maintain and foster social capital, specifically with sponsors.
It is again important to mention that Pango Camp participants do not indicate a particularly strong interest or association with “hard” outside news. Although some participants do engage with outside news, it is predominantly news of an anecdotal and sensational nature (soft news) that interests them. Participants generally display a negative attitude towards government, politics and news on the economy, but they do not hold specific opinions regarding preferred political parties, systems or leaders. The effect of echo chambers (Flaxman, Goel & Rao, 2016: 299; Grömping, 2014: 39) would therefore not apply in the sense that only certain views are reflected in the Facebook activity and feeds of Pango Camp participants.
Where echo chambers and filter bubbles (Quattrociocchi, Scala & Sunstein, 2016: 14; Pariser, 2011: 15, 16 & 111) do however come into effect is through Facebook pages such as Boere Krisis Aksie, Maroela Media and Huisgenoot. The content that participants find relatable and enjoyable are repeatedly presented to participants. Farm murders receive a disproportionate amount of attention from participants when 144 compared to other events occurring in the country at the time. These attacks on farmers and other news of a tragic and/or sensational nature appear to reach participants much more effectively and frequently that any other news. Blondie’s (34) account of her Facebook news consumption provides a strong indication of this:
I get all my information about the farmers that get killed, the criminals that get caught and the children that drown on Facebook. A week or two ago there was a little girl of one or two-years old that drowned in their home swimming pool. Also, about the police that just stop innocent people in the middle of the road – there are videos showing these things.
The sensational and anecdotal nature of the news content preferences of Pango Camp participants often lends itself to the prevalence of fake news (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017: 213; Johnson & Kelling, 2017: 3). Perhaps the best example of this is Blondie’s (34) concerns regarding sinister events occurring on the outside:
There are things that happen with children in the malls. That’s where it all happens – at the malls. There’s a group of men that take babies and school kids … And look at what’s happening with the bananas. I read about it on Facebook. They say before you eat a banana, you must peel it and cut off the top part, because they are injecting the bananas with AIDS. Straight into the banana.
Ewald (27) spoke about video clips and reports he has seen and read:
… like alien footage, UFOs and the illuminati. It says Barack Obama is the anti-Christ and that Oprah Winfrey is the beast. She rides this thing with seven heads. Because, you see she is the richest woman in the world. The queen of England will have to sell her castle and all her diamonds before she’s as rich as Oprah.
Much of what the participants relayed in terms of their outside news knowledge could not be verified by the researcher. Generic statements about “people throwing bottles” and “burning things” were made by Irene (55), Japie (71), Nicky (20), Dot (58) and 145 Paul (41). Although some violent protests were portrayed by the media during the time of the interviews, the participants’ inability to pinpoint exact details or surrounding content and context led the researcher to consider that much of what was distributed to participants through their Facebook affiliations may well be embellished, exaggerated or even fake news. In summary, the connections that Pango Camp participants form through WhatsApp groups, Facebook sites and other internet sources are used for beneficial and informational purposes.
5.5.4.3 Mobile phones
Even though a few participants in this study indicated that they own a computer, WhatsApp, Facebook and other internet sites are primarily accessed through mobile phones. This renders the mobile phone the most used communication and information tool within the Pango Camp community.
With the exception of David (62), Daniël (63), Jeff (65), Susanna (44), Jannie (63) and Japie (71), all the other nineteen participants have access to Facebook and internet sites, and web-enabled mobile phones are predominantly used as the only tool to access these. Only Hugo (54), Paul (41) and Mariska (21) own personal computers, Elize (38) has a tablet and Gideon (60) uses a computer at work. The remainder of Pango Camp participants use their mobile phones for Facebook and the internet.
Irene (55) provided the following explanation for using her mobile phone for Facebook and the internet instead of buying newspapers and magazines such as Huisgenoot:
Otherwise you have to drive to go and get it. With your phone, you go into the sites and you have it immediately.
The convenience factor of instantaneous newsfeeds is also enjoyed by Nicky (20) who was frequently observed to be on her mobile phone. She indicated that she predominantly uses her mobile phone for Facebook and “sites”. She suggested that most of her information comes from Facebook, which she accesses exclusively via
146 her mobile phone. Denise (40) declared that she uses her mobile phone to “go onto Facebook a lot,” and Estelle (34) described data as her “lifeline” as she receives “all the information I need on my phone.” She further elaborated:
… when I have data on my phone, I at least know what’s going on. I also have the stuff of my family on it [Facebook], but I don’t really worry about chatting to them. I only want to know what’s going on ... The thing is I don’t have a TV aerial … I get everything on my phone.
The reliance on mobile phones to obtain important information that could improve the lives of participants was further emphasised by Mariska (21):
I can’t go a day without my phone. I don’t know how some people do it. Without Facebook, I wouldn’t even have known that people are giving stuff away.
Respondents were not always particularly forthcoming on how they manage to afford data. Mariska (21) explained that her husband installs gate motors and electric fencing and that through his income and her social grants they are able to allocate funds towards buying one gigabyte of data every two weeks. Blondie (34) stated that the sponsors help with food and clothes but for the rest “you are on your own.” She indicated that, in addition to the money she makes “working the robots,” she uses her social grant money for “petrol for the car and for data. Without data, I would be completely cut off”. Nicky (20) claimed to have a contract phone that cost her R350 per month. This was confirmed by her mother, Irene (55). When the researcher asked Nicky, who is not permanently employed or receiving social grants, how she manages to afford having a contract phone, she answered “we make a plan”.
Several mobile phone studies in urban informal settlements indicate a common practice of sharing mobile phones between families, friends and neighbours (De Souza e Silva et al., 2011: 419; Skuse & Cousins, 2008: 17; Ureta, 2008: 88; Watson & Duffield, 2015: 275). In the Pango Camp study, most participants reported owning their own mobile phones. Susanna (44) and Jannie (63) are the only participants who share a mobile phone, and Jeff (65), Daniël (63) and David (62) do not own 147 mobile phones. David (62) does not have electricity to charge a phone, and Daniël (63) expressed that owning a mobile phone would put him at risk of being robbed.
This confirms the finding discussed earlier in this chapter that as result of regular assistance from donors combined with an income either from having temporary or part-time employment or social grants, Pango Camp residents frequently have funds available to access information and voice platforms, predominantly through Facebook. Their ability to access important information that could be beneficial to their lives is a distinguishable feature of this community. In fact, where only existing horizontal networks are typically strengthened through Facebook and mobile phone connectivity in impoverished communities (Chigona et al., 2009: 14; Gigler, 2015, xxxiii), these technologies and services have certainly helped the Pango Camp community in establishing and maintaining vertical networks with benefactors. In fact, mobile connectivity and Facebook is hardly used at all to maintain bonding capital or strong ties.
In addition to using mobile phones to obtain valuable information, participants use mobile phones for communication purposes. In this capacity, participants mostly use mobile phones to receive calls and to send and receive WhatApp messages – this is in line with findings in other impoverished communities and informal settlements where mobile phones are mostly used for sending and receiving messages and for receiving calls (Duncan, 2013: 40; Kreutzer, 2009: 51; Smith, 2011: 141; Ureta, 2008: 86).
Probably the best example of mobile phone usage for communication connectivity would be Hugo (54). During his interview, he accepted several calls from donors either to give directions to Pango Camp or to arrange future drop-offs. He stated that in addition to Facebook and emails, which he accesses on his personal computer, he uses his mobile phone for sending and receiving WhatsApp messages and for incoming calls from sponsors. Paul (41), who owns a personal computer, uses Bid or Buy to acquire items “that the people here use like gas stoves, gas bottles, solar panels … stuff like that.” He then fixes these items and sells them, not only to Pango Camp residents, but also to other interested buyers. Although he accesses Bid or Buy on his personal computer, he explains that in order to do business “people 148 phone and stuff. My cell phone is the most important”. Gareth (39) has an abseiling business and indicated that his mobile phone number is painted on his shack, which enhances his business connectivity: “If a person wants to abseil, my house is right there with my phone number on it”. Gareth (39) could however not assess how successful this approach of advertising has been.
In conclusion, this study therefore supports the findings of the studies conducted by Chigona et al. (2009: 14) and Skuse and Cousins (2008: 16), in which it was found that mobile phones are essential to social organisation, various forms of capital, the livelihoods, health and welfare of residents of informal settlements. Although mobile phone usage patterns within Pango Camp differ from one community to the next, the crucial and necessary nature of mobile phones within Pango Camp is evident.
5.6 Conclusion
The Pango Camp community, much like other impoverished groups of society, is characterised by low education levels and high unemployment. Although a lack of education is acknowledged by participants as a factor contributing to their poverty (and unemployment), it receives minimal attention and prioritisation. In the same vein, employment is mostly approached in a short-term, temporary manner with the goal being to provide instantaneous relief from monetary pressures. In other words, employment is not viewed as something to create structure, purpose, and/or social contacts on a permanent basis.
As result of the abovementioned factors, the Pango Camp community has become secluded and separated from the broader society. As much as participants express feeling included, their actions – and specifically their news media consumption practices – suggest isolation. Pango Camp participants rarely venture out of the camp, thus they show a preoccupation with events happening within their immediate surroundings. In fact, their inward focus is so fixed that their natural assumption is that “news” is the events and happenings in Pango Camp – inside news. Yet, although inside news is their prevailing preference, some participants show an interest (from a distance) in what they refer to as “outside news”. Furthermore, the
149 participants display awareness of the distinction drawn between their news and news about the wider world – attributing a sense of shame and destitution as reasons for their deliberate withdrawal.
The outside news topics that receive the most interest from participants are stories about crime or articles containing human-interest factors. Aside from the conventional news value of proximity, which applies to the internal nature of the Pango Camp participants’ news preferences, the news values of cultural meaningfulness, bad news, unambiguity and reference to people are present in the content that Pango Camp participants elect to engage with. The conventionally accepted news values of references to the powerful, the elite and celebrities are conspicuously absent from Pango Camp news media consumption practices, and as result, news about politics, the economy and sport receive minimal attention. In fact, politics is often intentionally avoided, as participants attach negative, and often aggressive, connotations to those in power. This contributes to their inability to relate to such content.
The gratifications sought and obtained by Pango Camp participants through their engagement with news media correlate with surveillance, diversion and personal identity. In monitoring their environment, opportunities that are available on the outside and dangers that potentially exist, participants engage in the act of surveillance. Furthermore, in demonstrating an interest in news that culturally corresponds with their own background and ethnicity, the news media fulfils their need for personal identity. Since participants’ news engagement is typically centred around soft news that is easily understood, this practice is helpful in addressing and easing boredom – rendering news consumption an act of diversion. In fact, the reason why participants engage with news media is often not what they perceive it to be – for example, as much as they may believe they are watching or listening to the news to stay abreast of events occurring in the country, this act may purely be nothing more than a pastime, an attempt at creating structure or routine. Furthermore, Pango Camp participants do not appear to engage with the news media to meet or address their need for personal relationships. They did not report feeling close to any figures portrayed by the mass media, and outside news topics are rarely discussed among Pango Camp residents. 150 Interacting with the news media to meet or fulfil certain needs is mostly easily achievable for participants since, apart from a few exceptions, news media sources are constantly available. Although participants’ favourite magazine Huisgenoot is considered too expensive, they are able to access the content of this publication through Facebook. In fact, Facebook is the most popular source of outside information in Pango Camp. The news obtained through this social network platform varies from soft news (predominantly crime and human-interest pieces) to information about free services that could benefit participants. The frequent usage of Facebook by participants either to gather information that is to their advantage or to contribute to the public sphere through expressing their views contradicts the suggestion that individuals who suffer from income poverty generally experience information and voice poverty as well. This is certainly not the case with Pango Camp, as even the handful of participants that do not have access to Facebook (often lacking motivational access) can easily acquire information through the complementary newspaper Krugersdorp News, or on television and radio, since most participants have access to at least a minimum of two news media sources.
The networks that participants have been able to create by virtue of having access to social network sites such as Facebook serve as crucial sources of news and information to them. The “news” they receive may not be classed according to traditional or conventional news values, yet it contains valuable and important information relevant to their lives. Furthermore, these networks (mostly accessed via mobile phones through Facebook and WhatsApp) have enabled them to increase their social capital in forming meaningful vertical relationships with people on the outside who provide them with assistance – something that is generally documented as challenging or even impossible for marginalised groups.
In summary and to conclude, although the Pango Camp community shares certain characteristics with other poor and marginalised groups, their news media consumption habits speak to an availability of sources, sufficient information and an adequate ability to participate on civil platforms. This is, in many ways, inconsistent with other studies conducted within the realm of media consumption and the poor. This confirms that no generalisation should ever be made about “the poor”, neither should any impoverished or marginalised groups receive this blanket definition. 151 Moreover, this community, unlike many other economically disadvantaged groups, has been able to form significant ties with other individuals and organisations on higher socio-economic levels than themselves. Not only are they able to establish and maintain these relationships (through media platforms), they are also able to benefit from them. Yet, surprisingly, in spite of the news media that participants have at their disposal, their purposeful inward focus prevents them from engaging with the “outside” world as truly equal citizens – instead they have created their own universe where the inside matters more than the outside, and where the outside is only enjoyed from the periphery.
152 Chapter 6: Conclusion
6.1 Background
News media consumption is a broad term and entails a person’s definition of news, reasons for engaging with news media, their news source preferences, news consumption practices, and how they make sense of their news media consumption behaviour. Research into the news media consumption of people living in marginal parts of society is scarce – both globally and locally – as the focus usually falls on the news media consumption of people with greater social capital such as the middle classes. In other words, the news media consumption of wealthy or powerful groups in society takes precedence over marginal groups such as people living in poverty- stricken urban informal settlements.
Research that has been conducted on the news media consumption of the poor has established that media preferences vary from country to country, and community to community, with the overriding contributing factors being cost and access to media. In fact, these studies are small-scale studies that investigate one topic related to news media consumption only – such as on the sociology and use of mobile phones, or the digital divide, or the use of one news medium such as radio. In other words, the existing scholarly body of knowledge on the news media consumption of the poor can benefit from a large-scale study that systematically analyses a range of aspects related to news media consumption, namely: the community’s view of what constitutes news, which news topics they find interesting, which news sources they consume, whether they feel included or excluded from the news and that they have a voice in public, and how these aspects play out in today’s environment of mobile phones and the internet – and most importantly, their reflections on these topics.
The lack of research on this topic, coupled with the significant percentage of adults living in informal settlements in South Africa, makes such research imperative. In other words, whilst the news media consumption habits of the middle-class and the elite are well documented and understood, little empirical research has been done to understand the news media preferences of the poor – especially those who live in informal settlements. Hence, this study explores these issues in detail.
153 6.2 Purpose and findings
The purpose of this study is to investigate the news media consumption of residents of the urban informal settlement, Pango Camp. In order to achieve this objective the following research aims are set for this study:
1. To establish how residents of Pango Camp define news; 2. To establish how residents of Pango Camp use different news sources; and 3. To examine why residents of Pango Camp rely on the news media that they use.
The purpose and aims of this study have been achieved as is indicated below.
6.2.1 Definition of news
Conventionally, news is defined by drawing on well-established news values such as unexpectedness, bad news, consonance, magnitude, references to persons, the powerful elite and celebrities, relevance, meaningfulness, frequency, entertainment and proximity (geographical, cultural and emotional). The residents of Pango Camp that were interviewed for this study did not confirm many of these conventional news values. Instead, participants of this study distinguished between “inside” and “outside” news, with the former referring to what happens within Pango Camp and the latter to any news not directly occurring within the boundaries of Pango Camp. A strong preference for inside news was reported by participants – to such an extent that their natural assumption is that news, by default, pertains to something that happens in Pango Camp.
The conventional news values that overlap with those of participants of this study (both in describing inside and outside news), are: unambiguity, meaningfulness, reference to persons, bad news and proximity (geographical, emotional and cultural). It seems that Pango Camp participants prefer stories that are easily understood in terms of content and that do not require rich context or deeper understanding. These typically include human-interest stories about topics such as divorce, children who are sick or recovering, crime, and other such news items. Cultural meaningfulness also plays a considerable part in the news that receives attention from Pango Camp 154 participants – an inclination to engage with news that involves other Afrikaans- speaking white people is evident. This includes coverage of farm murders and stories connected to the local area, in and around Krugersdorp. This also corresponds with the news value of cultural proximity. The news value that receives the most attention and interest is bad or negative news. Inside Pango Camp, fights, relationship and marriage disagreements, and friendship fall-outs are constant topics of conversation. Outside Pango Camp, farm murders, kidnappings and other crimes garner considerable attention and create an almost unrealistically pessimistic portrayal of the outside world. The news values that appear most relevant to Pango Camp participants is proximity news that is local (news about someone they know within their immediate environment), news that directly affects them (news about the “sponsors” and donor-related activities, as well as perceived dangers), and news that has an anecdotal and story-like quality to them.
Notably absent from the patterns of interest of Pango Camp participants’ news engagement are news values referring to the powerful elite, elite nations and celebrities. Pango Camp participants are generally uninterested in politics and politicians, they are hardly aware of local or international celebrities, and show very limited knowledge of supposed elite nations such as the United States of America. This speaks to the lack of relatability to such news content. This may suggest that the conventional news values used in the media industry are skewed toward the middle and higher socio-economic groups.
One of the most important findings of this study of the participants’ view of what constitutes news is that they naturally disregard “outside news”, and assume that “news” means “inside news”. The reason for this inward focus can be attributed to the survivalist nature of their engagement with news and news media. The more useful that new information (news) is for them, the more likely they are to regard it as news. On the one hand, their inside/outside dichotomy could be attributed to their poverty-stricken condition and their relative shame at being in that situation. The latter is demonstrated by them specifying they do not indicate their address as Pango Camp when seeking employment. On the other hand, another explanation for their inside/outside distinction is that they do not generally appreciate or value conventional (outside) news since it is not necessarily relevant to their own lives. 155 Pango Camp’s unique taxonomy of news values underscores their sense of exclusion from the broader society and country – albeit wilful and self-inflicted.
6.2.2 News sources
The majority of Pango Camp participants reported having access to newspapers, television, radio, and the internet, especially social media. These sources are not equally used as platforms and providers of news. Where television and radio are mostly used for entertainment in the form of movies and music, newspapers and magazines are sources of soft news (human-interest articles and coverage of sensation-driven events).
Of the conventional mass media, it has been noted that the expensive nature of magazines renders these the least popular sources of news. Although the content of the consumer magazine Huisgenoot is aligned with news values that are relevant and applicable to Pango Camp participants, it is generally considered unaffordable by Pango Camp participants. As result, Huisgenoot is read on Facebook, shared between households, or when older Huisgenoot magazines are delivered by the donors, these are circulated. The Krugersdorp News, due to it being complementary, is a traditional news source that receives widespread engagement. The other newspaper that receives some attention is Rapport, and is predominantly scanned over by the Pango Camp participants who sell it at traffic lights on Sundays. Television is mainly used for entertainment, with the exception of the occasional habitual evening news engagement, and radios are generally playing purely as background. The internet and social media are the most dominant sources of news reported among Pango Camp participants. The feeds from News24 receive attention, as do those from Maroela Media and Huisgenoot.
Person-to-person news is predominantly gossip about other Pango Camp residents or, if received from Hugo (54), it is mostly related to administrative and practical matters. Interpersonal relationships and networks also serve as valuable vessels of information and news, although the types of news distributed by different people and networks vary. Of particular interest, considering the Pango Camp community’s news consumption practices, is the role of Hugo (54), which follows the two-step flow
156 of communication as he receives information and passes it on to the rest of the community (either in person, in group meetings, or through camp callers such as Langhaar Petrus). He thus filters important information through to the rest of the community. Community leader Hugo is the only Pango Camp resident who engages with municipal representatives and other external authority figures. He is also the person who predominantly sources and liaises with donors. He thus serves as the middleman between the outside and Pango Camp and when he receives information that needs to be disseminated to the rest of the community, a meeting is held at his and Irene’s home to ensure that everyone in the community is aware of relevant developments.
The internet and social media are accessed by Pango Camp participants to obtain news, yet not necessarily to obtain hard news. The information derived from Facebook is related either to potential benefits or to receiving the same type of news participants enjoy reading about in magazines and newspapers (soft news). An example of distribution of internal information (with an external connotation) is the WhatsApp group Munsie Moms formed by one of the camp’s benefactors. This group, as the name suggests, includes the mothers of Pango Camp, and information pertaining to the children is distributed using this platform. Due to a lack of financial resources, the Pango Camp participants remain fairly immobile within their environment, and they rarely physically interact with people who reside outside Pango Camp. However, they do participate in virtual networking on the social network site Facebook. The news they receive by virtue of being part of certain networks is aligned with the news values they deem important, namely bad news, news that is close in proximity, news that is easy to understand, news about people, and news about services that may benefit them (such as Kom Vat Weg Gratis En Verniet). The networks they select to be part of on Facebook also contain cultural meaningfulness (e.g. Boere Krisis Aksie) and create opportunities to voice their views on platforms where they find a cultural kinship.
In other words, the participants of this study reported using a wide variety of news sources. Their social media usage confirms research findings suggesting that even the poor consistently find ways to penetrate and partake on social network platforms. However, when considering their social media news consumption, it should be taken 157 into account that this particular community is not the poorest of the poor in the country, but on a relatively high LSM compared to other urban informal settlements that do not receive the same level of aid that Pango Camp does. As result, Pango Camp participants have more disposable income ready to use for access to media sources such as paid-for television channels, mobile phones, data bundles for their mobile phones and even personal computers.
6.2.3 The reasons why Pango Camp participants rely on the news media they use
Drawing on the traditional uses and gratifications identified, namely diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and surveillance, the news media consumption practices of Pango Camp participants primarily serve the need of surveillance and diversion. Pango Camp participants use the media to monitor the environment and to obtain information that could be beneficial to them. Although their news media engagement may not be directed at obtaining information about the stock market or actions of political figures and/or parties, they use the news media for information that could be instrumental to their lives – information about free services, potential dangers and other opportunities. Furthermore, interacting with news sources is often done as a distraction and a form of entertainment for participants. The activity alone and the anecdotal nature of the content they engage with offer a departure from their own everyday existence – diversion.
Furthermore, the need for personal identity is addressed through Pango Camp participants’ news engagement practices. The content they elect to engage with contains characteristics participants can identify with and relate to – such as cultural similarities, shared experiences or comparable circumstances (farm murders, tragic stories, etc.).
The need for personal relationships seem absent from Pango Camp participants’ news media engagement, however. They do not engage with news media for companionship, and, likewise, they do not appear to discuss outside news media content with and amongst one another. In fact, the news they do share with fellow residents tends to pertain purely to the inside.
158 Considering the more recent uses and gratifications conceptions specifically focused around new media usage, elements of modality and agency are found in the Pango Camp participants’ news media engagements. With regard to modality, participants appear to consider the content they consume as real, new and true, and it provides them with opportunities to learn about things that are on the outside, where they cannot physically be due to a lack of finances. Agency enhancement is a crucial gratification obtained through the news engagement activities of Pango Camp participants. Their Facebook networks and interaction provide participants with generous opportunities to connect with others and expand their social networks.
6.2.4 Making sense of the news media consumption of Pango Camp residents
Collectively, the findings that are described above under the three aims of this study facilitate an understanding of how sense can be made of the news media consumption of Pango Camp residents.
As discussed under the first research aim (participants’ definition of news), it was mentioned that in distinguishing between “inside” and “outside” news, participants convey a sense of social exclusion. It is important to mention that participants do not appear to be overtly aware or concerned about such social exclusion. On the contrary, they report feeling connected with the rest of the area and country. However, by drawing such a clear distinction between “inside” and “outside” news, a feeling of separation must be present on some level. This is the first indication that participants’ understanding of their own behaviour and news media choices do not always correlate with the perception of established research on news values.
Even engaging with complementary news media sources such as the Krugersdorp News reveals conflicting reasons for news consumption. Participants would express an interest in content covered within this newspaper, yet details appear to escape them. This raises the question whether reading this newspaper is truly done to obtain information or if the process of going to get it and the act of paging through it are activities enough. The same pattern was observed and documented when it comes to watching television news. Although participants would state that watching the evening news forms part of their daily routine, few participants were able to recount
159 events being broadcast. This corresponds with existing research that suggests that the poor and unemployed often engage in activities purely to alleviate boredom. In this case, it would suggest that engaging in news media is often a time-filling exercise and not necessarily an information-driven activity.
Social media usage for surveillance reasons – to identify opportunities to gain an income or to obtain donations – is evidenced in this study. Instead of finding that participants feel they are either negatively stereotyped in the media or not reported upon, their avid exposure to social media (especially Facebook), paired with their assumption that news constitutes news events or information about and by insiders, has made them assume that news media include Facebook and WhatsApp. Quite a few participants indicated that they follow various Facebook sites and are concerned there about their negative portrayal. However, depending on the specific Facebook site, some participants of this study take the opportunity to voice their views. The role of face-to-face communication, especially through the agency of the community leader, Hugo, is another source of news – albeit mostly about inside news.
In other words, this study found that the definition of news is closely linked to the inward and survivalist focus of the community of Pango Camp. Likewise, their preferred sources of news tend to be linked to alleviating immediate daily needs or to poverty-coloured news media consumption such as human-interest stories. Furthermore, much of their disposable income is spent on internet-enabled mobile phones and data bundles to access social media. These tendencies underline the enormous impact of an individual’s or community’s socio-economic position on news media consumption, and suggests that further studies need to be undertaken to investigate the link between news media consumption and different forms and level of poverty.
6.3 Limitations of the study
This study focuses on a small segment of society, namely a tiny white Afrikaans- speaking urban informal settlement in the country. Furthermore, even though a large sample of the Pango Camp community participated in this study, the whole
160 community did not partake. For these reasons, no generalisations of the findings of this study can be made to the whole of Pango Camp, or to other informal communities globally or locally, or to other white Afrikaans-speaking urban informal settlements in the country.
In fact, it is essential that the unique circumstances of each community living in urban informal settlements are taken into account when interpreting news media consumption.
6.4 Recommendations for further research
Considering the limitations of this study, the researcher recommends further research involving the focus of this study within other informal settlements – especially ones that are demographically more representative of the country.
Also, since not all urban informal settlements are equally poor or poor in the same way, communities of each of the different levels of poverty should be investigated. The collective of such studies invites a meta-study in order to form a coherent picture of the complexity of poverty and the different “kinds” of poverty, and how these relate to news media consumption.
Furthermore, a quantitative research project may produce data that allows for generalisation and wider applicability than this quantitative study.
6.5 Conclusion
This study provides, on a qualitative level and thus on a small scale, valuable insight into a community almost invisible even to their next-door neighbours. It sheds light on the news media consumption habits of individuals living in an urban informal settlement and who are thus affected by poverty that spans across various levels. It has found primarily that participants of this study distinguish between inside and outside news, and that their definition of news is linked to the survivalist nature of their daily living (to access opportunities for help). Furthermore, the participants of
161 this study place considerable value on being connected – mainly through Facebook – since having access to information and communication platforms has proven most effective in providing them with the type of news that they are looking for. These findings contribute to the existing understanding of news values and news media consumption since these conventional categories are woven into their survivalist condition and their need to alleviate boredom, and in this way this research disrupts well established understandings of news values and how news media is consumed – even in impoverished communities.
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185 Appendix 1: Interview schedule
1) Poverty, education and unemployment
1.1 What is your employment situation? 1.2 What is your educational background? 1.3 What are your sources of income and/or assistance?
Community leader Hugo provided statistical information regarding the employment situation of residents, and he also indicated the general level of education.
2) News and news topics
2.1 What types of stories do you enjoy and why? 2.2 What types of stories do you not enjoy or care for and why? 2.3 When engaging with any media, what interests you most and why? 2.4 Which stories would you share with the other Pango Camp residents and which ones will be shared with you? 2.5 Would you say you are interested in politics, the economy or crime, and why or why not? 2.6 Would you say there are Pango Camp residents who are interested in these topics? 2.7 How would you describe your knowledge of news? 2.8 Would you say some Pango Camp residents are more up to date with news events? 2.9 Do you feel included in the rest of the country and why?
3) Access to news sources and voice platforms
3.1 The first time I heard about Pango Camp, I read about it in Huisgenoot. Did you see this article? 3.2 Have you seen any other articles or televised features on Pango Camp? 3.3 Considering all the mass media sources such as television, radio, newspapers and magazines, which ones do you have access to and how often do you use them?
186 3.4 Would you ever share any of these sources with other Pango Camp residents and, if so, what process is followed? 3.5 Would you ever use any media sources such as radio shows, social media or even newspapers to share your own views or to comment on public matters?
4) Other news sources and news media consumption
4.1 Do you use the internet and social media for news? How often and what types of news do you get from these platforms? 4.2 What do you mainly use Facebook for? 4.3 Why do you consider Facebook such an important source of news? 4.4 If you compare Facebook to all the other media sources such as magazines, newspapers, radio and television, which sources do you use the most and why? 4.5 How do you receive necessary information about Pango Camp (this includes sponsors, municipality matters or other arrangements)? 4.6 If you had to explain how news travels within Pango Camp, how would you describe the process?
187 Appendix 2: Photos of Pango Camp
Photo 1: The Pango Camp houses
Photo 2: A satellite dish protruding from a rooftop
188
Photo 3: One of the portable toilets shared between homes
Photo 4: One of the Pango Camp lanes
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